Yeah... that's all...

But even with just that, it really makes my heart ache!

Sigh, on top of that, I don't even know how long I'll be staying in the Western Regions! If it's only about a month, it's fine, but if it's a long time...

"Oh dear, you're such a pitiful child. Sister will give you a few thousand gold coins to spend!" Long Ling couldn't bear it anymore and directly transferred over six thousand gold coins into my bracelet, instantly making me wealthy.

"Wow, Master, you're so rich but still so stingy. If you had given it to me earlier..."

Before I could finish my sentence, Long Ling interrupted me, saying, "If I had given it to you earlier, you, the spendthrift, would be living carefree and wouldn't even want to walk. You'd want to be carried everywhere, right? Let me tell you, this gold isn't just for your accommodation expenses. It's for the auction at the Great Western Auction House! You should know that the auction in the Western Regions is unparalleled, with many smaller auction houses. And this time, with one thousand gold coins, I will bid for the Illusory Spirit Technique for you!" Long Ling explained seriously.

The Illusory Spirit Technique is the ability to clone oneself, thereby stimulating the limit of spiritual energy without any risk of going berserk or dying.

In simple terms — overclocking!

It sounds dangerous, but with the Illusory Spirit Technique, there will be no limit to my strength, and I can fully unleash my martial arts prowess.

Especially with my Ocean Discerning Pearl, by continuously splitting and duplicating, I can reduce the pressure on my spiritual energy output.

The Ocean Discerning Pearl itself is an extremely terrifying artifact, possessing the power to create the world. It's hard to believe that such a small object has such great ability.

"With the help of the Illusory Spirit Technique, your future cultivation will also experience a huge breakthrough. As for your lifespan... if you can't break through to the Immortal Refining realm before you're two thousand five hundred years old, your lifespan will be completely depleted. But if the opposite happens, you will step into a terrifying realm that no one in this world can rival — the Immortal Emperor realm!"

"Immortal Emperor?"

"That's right. I myself relied on the Illusory Spirit Technique to reach the Immortal Emperor realm. However..."

"However, what? And also... Master, is the success rate of the Illusory Spirit Technique high?"

"Hahaha, look at how many Immortal Emperors there are on the continent right now. Use your pig brain and think carefully, is the probability high or low?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't study well before, so I haven't heard of it."

"Well... although I don't really want to dampen your spirits, since I became a master, there hasn't been anyone who reached the Immortal Emperor realm. And if we don't count Longhua Ancestor, the creator of the continent, the number of people who reached the Immortal Emperor level can be said to be just me."

"Oh, you're amazing."

After hearing Long Ling's description, I have a pretty good understanding of this world now.

Honestly, I always thought that in the legendary Six Realms, the Imperial City of Immortals would be a common sight. But now, it seems that this so-called Immortal Emperor is an existence that can't even be seen in the Immortal Realm.

Long Ling seems to not care about what I think at all, and continues to transmit to me the basic requirements to become an Immortal Emperor.

In short, I can tell that she was clearly hinting at me, urging me to break through to the so-called Immortal Realm, so as to lay the foundation for the future Emperor Realm.

"Forget it!" I refused without hesitation, "I just don't understand, even if I become an Emperor, what difference would it make?"

"...I have to say, disciple, don't you lack ambition?" Long Ling's response to my answer was unexpected, she didn't expect me to be indifferent to all this.

"It's not that I lack ambition, it's that I don't know what I'm pursuing in the first place," I said as I scratched my ear.

Actually, I'm not just being negative, it's really a big problem, what am I doing all this for?

"Well then! Since you've put it that way, and your tone and expression seem serious, I'll just treat you like a little dog," Long Ling said.

Long Ling didn't force me, and soon she also had the intention to give up.

We went back and forth, and quickly forgot all about buying the Illusionary Spirit Technique.

The Illusionary Spirit Technique itself is a very bizarre cultivation technique, and I have heard a little about it.

As a commonly practiced consumable technique, it doesn't consume any spiritual energy, but real life!

Of course, although this is just a legend, because it is said that the Illusionary Spirit Technique has the attribute of reducing one's lifespan, not many people dare to touch this technique.

The reason why it is considered common is because this technique has its unique characteristic, which is the path to becoming an Immortal that everyone knows about.

Once you reach the Ascendant Immortal Realm, the Illusionary Spirit Technique will start to devour your lifespan at fifty percent speed, truly using your life in battle!

As for when you reach the Alchemy Immortal Realm, the effect of the Illusionary Spirit Technique will be neutralized by the Nebula's envelopment. At that time, you will break through the bottleneck all the way to the legendary Emperor Realm!!!

Of course...all of this was said by Long Ling, and I have no way of knowing.

In the thousands of years of the continent's development, no one has ever witnessed the creation of the Emperor Realm by this technique.

Moreover, if a powerful Emperor really appeared, it would be a very terrifying event!

However...

Long Ling shook her head unconcernedly and said, "Disciple, there is fate in the dark. If destiny wants you to become a god and an emperor, no one can stop you! But the Emperor Realm itself is an act of defying fate, the highest realm among all gods and creators!"

"So, Master, are you saying that I have destiny on my side?" I asked, both annoyed and amused. I know my own abilities, especially my mediocre cultivation has already made that quite clear to me.

"Hmph, it's hard to say!" Long Ling said, pulling my shoulder and revealing the dragon pattern on my back.

"Master! What are you doing?" I blushed and put my clothes away. After all, I'm still a virgin, and it's inevitable to have this kind of embarrassment.

"Disciple, I understand that your physique is not suitable for cultivators, and it doesn't bring any benefits to cultivators. But I still hope you can understand that I'm doing all this for your own good!" Long Ling patted my shoulder and then disappeared without a trace.

...

"The royal family has issued a decree," the figure of the Demon Emperor Wuduan Tian appeared on the broadcasting screen of the Holy God City's news department," starting today, we will be levying new taxes. Our army suffered a major defeat in the battle in the Central Plains, and there is now a shortage of supplies on the frontlines. The tax rate will be tripled throughout the country!"

"What?"

"Triple! Are they trying to make our whole family freeze?"

Every person in the town had a worried expression, except for the beggars who continued to enjoy their carefree lives in the forest, indifferent to these irrelevant issues.

"Father!" Tonger angrily burst into Wuduan Tian's room. "With your tax collection, our economy and people can't afford it!"

"What do you know!" Wuduan Tian smashed the dragon table with one palm, his face turning purple with anger. "Do you know what conditions they proposed? To marry you off to the prince from the Northern Territory, do you know?"

Wuduan Tian's face was flushed with anger.

You should know that the Northern Territory used to have influence throughout the entire continent. How could Wuduan Tian, who hadn't even heard of a swan dying of starvation being bigger than a chicken, not know about it?

And now they're back. After years of recovery, the empire, which had just endured a war, was in no position to fight back, especially considering that the Ye family in the Northern Territory had three immortal experts.

"..."

Tonger couldn't utter a word in response to her father's anger. "They said they want to hold a grand wedding for you in four years... I..."

Wuduan Tian couldn't continue anymore.

"Yuanhui, " Tonger's mind went blank. "Yuanhui... I agree to the demands of the Star Emperor... I agree..."

"Slap!" Wuduan Tian slapped his own daughter for the first time in his life.

"Father... the people can't bear to be exploited anymore! On the way here, I saw many families torn apart, some resorting to cannibalism... we..." Tonger sobbed in distress.

"Father knows!" Wuduan Tian's tone softened a bit. "Father knows the Star Empire is not a good place. That's why I absolutely cannot allow my daughter to do such a thing. But... sigh... we only have two immortals now. One of them has already perished in a joint attack by the three immortals from the Northern Territory. Your father has only survived because he reached the realm of transcendent immortals."

"So father, should we retreat to the south and lower the Imperial City?"

"..." Wuduan Tian remained silent. He had nothing more to say and fell into deep thought.

The path of the powerful is treacherous. Even if one is a powerful cultivator, without sufficient allies, it is difficult to find a foothold on the continent.

"The Demon Emperor is going to be in trouble..." Long Ling shook her head with a smile, looking down on Wuduan Tian.

"Demon Emperor?" I was shocked. "You mean the father of Wu Tonger, right? Although I've never seen him, I have heard rumors about him and it seems he is even more amazing than the legends say."

"Hehehe, if I tell you that his end is near, will you say the same?" Long Ling tilted her head slightly, revealing a sinister smile.

At the moment I saw her smile, I vaguely felt a sense of unease. Could it be that Long Ling - this guy - is hiding something?