But divine blood was different from the power of an eerie god. It would inevitably require facing the true gaze of an eerie god, and he was not entirely sure if his disguise could fool them.
'Even as a priest, if I lack what they truly desire, they definitely won't give the divine blood,' Su Chen pondered inwardly.
Right now, the only one he had laid any groundwork with was Hei Tuo.
'That guy was already salivating over back on the Crimson Thunder Planet. If I use myself as bait, I might just be able to coax it out of him.'
The Great Exalted's spirituality definitely couldn't be used as an excuse anymore, but Su Chen himself might be even more valuable.
Having locked onto his old friend Hei Tuo as the target for his bluff, the next step was to ensure his disguised identity remained undiscovered.
'I can't use a similar sacrificial array again,' Su Chen thought. 'I'll have to use a form of prayer instead, denying him the chance to descend. But if I do that, will the divine blood still be able to transfer over?'
This involved the true inner secrets of the Eerie God Cult. Without any extraneous information circulating in the outside world, he could only rely on his own exploration.
'I still need to play it safe.' Su Chen looked up at the extinguished dark sphere in the sky, his mind stirring. 'How about I wait for the fla to reignite, and then contact Hei Tuo at the border through prayer?'
'This way, I can advance or retreat as needed. Even if it fails this ti, it won't lead to him discovering my true identity.'
Su Chen thought it over carefully. This thod should be viable.
Recently, he had cramd a lot of basic information. The fla was highly lethal to Underworld creatures and even held considerable deterrent power against the eerie gods. This was the fundantal reason why factions possessing the fla could mine various resources in the Underworld.
Otherwise, how could those great eerie gods just watch helplessly as they operated unhindered in the Underworld?
Even for the Bronze Cult, whose fla clearly had issues with extinguishing and reigniting, no Underworld creatures at the eerie god level ca to harass them. 'But I have to reach the fifth tier first. With my current spiritual power, even if I secure the divine blood, I probably wouldn't be able to bring it out.'
Thinking of this, Su Chen estimated the ti again. He had just arrived in the Underworld, and there were still more than eleven hours before the fla would reignite.
He simply headed straight back to the Underworld Stone vein, still maintaining his identity as a believer of the Faceless Ghost.
The sa few old friends were still sprawled over the vein. They swept a glance at him but couldn't be bothered to pay him any mind.
The lower-tier Underworld creatures below scattered like startled birds and beasts, but this ti Su Chen did not stop them.
Just as he was about to speak to the most conspicuous high-tier Underworld creature, he unexpectedly noticed that one low-tier creature had not left.
It was that black ape from last ti... Su Chen looked in surprise toward a nearby corner, where the creature was watching him timidly.
"You, stay behind later," Su Chen pointed and instructed.
The black ape showed no fear. Instead, it thumped its chest, looking rather excited.
Su Chen didn't pay it much mind. Standing at the foot of the mine, he looked up and locked onto the Underworld creature that resembled a centipede with a hundred claws.
"How should I address you?" Su Chen asked.
The Underworld creature cast a sowhat surprised look at him. After a mont of silence, it finally responded, "Call Wulong."
"Wulong?" Su Chen nodded, his expression calm. "My Lord has an order."
Wulong's massive body abruptly halted, freezing like a stationary mountain.
Imdiately after, the body covered in thick, heavy scales began to move, actually emitting a muffled sound like cracking rocks.
Its hideous head, resembling that of a dragon, slowly lowered from above. A shadow wrapped in a bloody stench descended and stopped right in front of Su Chen.
Su Chen could clearly see so sort of sli between its interlocking, razor-sharp teeth, and its massive vertical pupils looked like abyssal rifts.
"Do you take for a fool? The God of Faceless Ghosts has an order for ?"
Su Chen's face was calm, though he couldn't help feeling a bit nervous inwardly, ready to evacuate from this place at any mont.
He had never dealt with these Underworld creatures before, much less known what their relationship with the eerie gods was like.
Such information wasn't even recorded within the Bronze Cult. Every step he took now was an exploration in the dark.
"Let's try another approach," Su Chen pivoted after failing to bluff the creature. "I wish to cooperate with you."
"Cooperate?" Wulong's voice was cold. "I don't deal with lunatics."
A lunatic? Su Chen was left montarily speechless but continued, "If you have any needs, you can tell . We can help each other."
"I want the Heart of Spiritual Fire. I want the Source of Spiritual Light. Do you have them? Can you provide them?" Wulong's eyes were utterly devoid of warmth as it listed a string of items Su Chen had never even heard of.
Su Chen simply replied indifferently, "I don't have them, but my Lord does. My Lord can bestow them upon you. Do you dare accept?"
Hearing this, Wulong fell silent, retracted its head, and crawled back onto the mountain range.
"This is why I refuse to deal with you lunatics. Every ti you open your mouths, it's 'My Lord, My Lord'..." Wulong shook its head, but it also noticed that this eerie god believer before it seed quite different from the others.
It pondered for a mont before asking, "What exactly do you want to cooperate on?"
"I need Underworld Stones. Aside from here, do you know where else I can find them?"
"Underworld Stones? Of course I know, but what can you give ?" Wulong's giant eyes narrowed slightly.
"What do you want?" Su Chen countered.
"I want unpolluted extra-realm spiritual bodies." When it spoke of its demand, Su Chen could practically see the greed and yearning shimring in Wulong's eyes.
It wasn't just Wulong; several nearby high-tier Underworld creatures also cast attentive glances over.
Extra-realm spiritual bodies? Su Chen naturally understood that it was referring to their own spiritual bodies.
Living spiritual bodies possessed an unparalleled, fatal attraction to Underworld creatures—this was docunted even back on the Crimson Thunder Planet.
But Su Chen obviously couldn't provide a steady supply of those, so he could only shake his head. "That's a bit troubleso. Pick sothing else."
Wulong scoffed and said no more, focusing single-mindedly on extracting so kind of power from the Underworld Stone vein.
Commanding this creature truly wasn't going to be that simple.
Su Chen sighed inwardly, but upon further thought, it was perfectly normal. If these intelligent beings were so easy to cooperate with...
The Cult would have established a partnership with them long ago. How could it possibly be his turn to negotiate now?
He wasn't in a rush anyway; these guys wouldn't delay his mining.
Su Chen shifted his gaze back to the distant black ape, leading it into the mine shaft first.
Estimating that almost all the Underworld creatures outside had arrived, he stepped back out and picked a few more to bring inside.
'This black ape has great work efficiency.' After assigning tasks to the other creatures, Su Chen observed for a while and found the black ape to be extrely proactive.
'If I can't find a major contractor, maybe I can cultivate a small construction crew,' Su Chen mused. With that thought, his heart stirred. He silently backed out of the mine shaft and waited in the distance.
Not long after, a rat-headed Underworld creature that stood upright on two legs poked its head out of the cave. Realizing the terrifying figure was nowhere to be found, it happily scampered off.
Imdiately following that, the remaining three creatures also bolted out.
But Su Chen waited for a long ti, and the black ape still didn't erge.
'It really is obedient,' Su Chen noted with a hint of surprise as he walked back into the mine.
Sure enough, the creature was still burying its head in excavation. Its four arms moved as fast as spinning wheels, sending rock fragnts flying.
"Interesting," Su Chen couldn't help but nod.
After waiting a little longer, he once again forced a few Underworld creatures over to help, only calling it quits right before the fla reignited.
Just like last ti, he took the mother stones with him, and fed everything he couldn't carry to the black ape.
"Thank... you..."
The spiritual fluctuation was clearer this ti. Before leaving, Su Chen said to it, "I'll call you Little Black from now on. If you're truly smart, co back here again tomorrow."
The black ape seed to understand, yet also seed confused.
Su Chen didn't take it to heart; it was rely a casual pawn placed on the board.
Returning to reality, Su Chen did not notify Ming Lin to co over again. Fencing goods wasn't that simple, especially when done covertly.
Having just handed him the stock yesterday, selling out by today would only raise suspicion.
He had excavated another two mother stones today. He estimated that mining for one more day would yield enough to purchase sufficient Sly Fox divine power to synthesize the essence and strengthen the Endurers.
After that, he would pause. If he hoarded too much, Ming Lin wouldn't be able to offload it all in a short ti anyway.
'Next, my priority is advancing to a Crimson Thunder Dominion Lord. By then, I can try to bluff Hei Tuo. In the anti, I can scout out the location of that spiritual fire.'
Having decided on his next course of action, Su Chen returned to his training room and circulated his ditation technique.
He hadn't applied for the fifth-tier body tempering technique or the corresponding potion supply yet. The main reason was that to request them, he first had to undergo certification and update his profile.
His advancent to Crimson Thunder Dominion Lord was approaching fast, so a few days wouldn't make a difference.
On another floating island, ng Shiyu stepped out of his aircraft and glanced up. The place looked quite austere. Aside from a few essential buildings, there were no facilities ant for entertainnt or leisure.
Proceeding straight to the main building and ascending to the top floor, he found Qin Tianlin already waiting for him.
"Senior Brother..." ng Shiyu called out respectfully. Only after seeing Qin Tianlin nod did he carefully take a seat.
"How is the investigation going?" Qin Tianlin asked.
ng Shiyu wore a bitter smile and sighed. "Senior Brother, I don't know if that Su Chen is on his guard or if he genuinely has that much patience."
"Since arriving at the Cult, he has barely left his floating island. His potion consumption hasn't stopped, though—the volu has actually increased by thirty percent. I estimate he consus as many as four or five potions a day."
"That much?" Qin Tianlin asked in surprise. "Even with his talent, could he really absorb them that fast?"
"Who knows?" ng Shiyu sighed helplessly. "Several of our people have tried to approach him, both openly and covertly, but we can't even catch a glimpse of him."
Qin Tianlin's brow furrowed tightly. Before leaving, his grandfather had told him to lay low, so naturally, he wouldn't make any major moves.
But gathering intelligence and keeping an eye on movents was perfectly normal.
However, at this point, ng Shiyu changed the subject: "But recently, his underling, that lackey nad Ming Lin, has been making so moves."
"Oh?" Qin Tianlin's eyes glinted slightly.
ng Shiyu didn't keep him in suspense and continued, "He seems to be in contact with black market rchants."
"Scalping potions?" Qin Tianlin thought instinctively, but then shook his head. "Unlikely. The man isn't stupid. Moreover, scalping potions won't earn him much."
"It's not potions. He seems to be inquiring about the price of eerie god power," ng Shiyu said hesitantly. "The black market rchants operating around the Cult's vicinity are all very tight-lipped. Plus, that guy is acting covertly, having swapped through several identities, so I'm not entirely certain."
"Eerie god power!" A bright gleam burst from Qin Tianlin's eyes, but then he seed to recall sothing and sighed. "Grandfather did ntion to that since he ca from the Crimson Thunder Planet, he carries a massive amount of eerie god power on him."
"He specifically warned not to use this against him, saying I might just dig my own grave."
"So that's how it is." ng Shiyu was sowhat disappointed. The information he had painstakingly gathered seed useless, but he then added, "I'll keep an eye on him for now. That guy is acting too secretly; I feel it isn't that simple."
Qin Tianlin nodded. Just as he was about to speak, his expression shifted, revealing a look of joy. "Uncle-Master Fan is here."
Before ng Shiyu could react, the door swung open with a whoosh. A figure strode in with his head held high. He had an enormous fra, standing there like a mountain, his face covered in a thick beard.
"Uncle-Master Fan," Qin Tianlin stood up to welco him.
"Master..." ng Shiyu also hastily called out, feeling a surge of joy in his heart. The final profession required for his master's Slting Holy Vocation must have already been attained.
"Hahaha!" Fan Zhao laughed heartily, patting Qin Tianlin on the shoulder. "Not bad! As soon as I ca out, I heard you've already triggered the anomalies three tis."
Qin Tianlin gave a bitter smile. "Sigh, with that new Star Seed around, my achievents don't count for much."
Fan Zhao's expression darkened slightly, but he said, "What kind of talk is that? A cause for celebration is a cause for celebration! What does it have to do with anyone else?"
He sat down directly and said indifferently, "I already know about that new Star Seed. He is indeed not simple, however—"
He shook his head and smiled, his gaze falling upon ng Shiyu. "Shiyu."
ng Shiyu hurriedly nodded. "Master, please speak."
"Call him over. I want to et him," Fan Zhao demanded as a matter of course.
"This..." Hearing Fan Zhao's presumptuous tone, ng Shiyu exchanged a glance with Qin Tianlin and said hesitantly, "Master, I'm afraid this matter—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Fan Zhao interrupted him, his face turning cold. "What's wrong?"
ng Shiyu didn't dare say anything rash; he just smiled bitterly. "I'm not sure if I can invite him over."
Fan Zhao gave a cold snort. "Just go and invite him. Whether he cos or not is none of your concern."
"Understood," ng Shiyu sighed, having no choice but to turn and leave.
Only after seeing ng Shiyu leave did Qin Tianlin speak softly, "Uncle-Master, before Grandfather left, he specifically warned not to provoke him during his absence."
"I'm just inviting him for a al, is that considered provoking?" Fan Zhao shook his head.
Qin Tianlin remained silent, not trying to persuade him further. If Qin Yun hadn't specifically warned him, he probably would have resorted to so underhanded thods himself.
Changing the topic, he asked, "Are the preparations for the Slting Holy Vocation fully complete, Uncle-Master?"
"Things are more or less ready on my end," Fan Zhao nodded, but he looked sowhat impatient. "But the Underworld Hall is dragging their feet."
Qin Tianlin was sowhat puzzled. "Didn't they locate a spiritual fire recently?"
Fan Zhao's face turned icy. "Found it, yes, but the Underworld creatures nearby haven't been cleared out yet. Qin Yuezheng keeps delaying with all sorts of excuses, claiming it's too far from the fla's range, that they are short-handed, and so on."
"I bet it's because my Master has left, and now Chu Lingyuan is in charge. That Qin Yuezheng is deliberately trying to make things difficult for . I was just about to head to the Underworld to have a word with him!"
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