"Yes!"
With Leilin's command, the ox-horn horn in his hands was immediately enveloped by a layer of light, then slowly crumbled to ash.
A massive amount of images and text information surfaced in Leilin's mind, continuously recorded and analyzed by the Chip.
After that, the pink shell met the same fate.
When the process was complete, Leilin looked at the two new folders that had appeared in the Chip and a look of satisfaction crossed his face.
Meanwhile, the small figure was watching the pile of ash on the ground with a pained expression.
Such complete study materials — with information painstakingly engraved into storage mediums by experts — had cost it enormous time, effort, and even wealth!
[Beep! 'Path of Ritual,' 'Beast Soul Technique' files acquired (incomplete)!]
The Chip's notification came through as well. Leilin could understand this; after all, such a small shop couldn't possibly contain truly advanced content.
In fact, when he saw that the materials here pointed all the way to Morning Star, he had been somewhat surprised.
After all, in the
"The materials you have here seem to be somewhat lacking, don't they?" Of course, on the surface, Leilin still furrowed his brows in displeasure, instantly making the small figure tremble all over.
"My lord! My lord! These two sets of materials were transported from the Heier Continent. Each one has passed the inspection of the Holy Land and is perfectly complete. They allow cultivation all the way to the Morning Star level — absolutely no falsehood!"
The small figure immediately protested.
"Morning Star? It seems the power hierarchy names of the upper levels of the Purgatory World are still following the Wizard World's style."
Leilin nodded and then asked: "And what about the secret techniques after Morning Star? Where can I obtain those?"
The moment this question was raised, a troubled expression immediately appeared on the small figure's face: "This… my lord… everything beyond the Morning Star realm is top-secret knowledge among every race. Even for these materials, I took enormous risks to acquire them…"
Seeing Leilin's expression growing somewhat dark, the small figure quickly cried out again.
"Wait! My lord! I just remembered! On the Heier Continent, the Holy Land — the
"Serpent Bloodline? Holy City?" These titles startled Leilin inwardly. He now knew this was most likely the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' main stronghold.
Though he desperately wanted to ask for more intelligence, Leilin knew he absolutely could not reveal any ignorance about the Holy City. Otherwise, it would arouse suspicion, and killing to silence him would attract the security forces — an even greater trouble.
"The Holy City is still too far from me. Are there other ways?"
Leilin's eyes narrowed slightly as he appraised the small figure before him.
"Most sorry! There truly aren't any!" The small figure's face was miserable, and Leilin confirmed the claim without pressing further.
After that, Leilin began a grand sweep of the other's shop. With their very life implicitly in his grip, the small figure dared not resist in the slightest.
"Oh? A detailed map of the Heier Continent — quite rough, but not bad!"
"This is… a Beast Soul of
"And this! That! Bring them all out!" With Leilin's discerning eye, virtually every worthwhile item in the small shop had been picked out.
"My… my lord!" By now, the small figure's voice was tinged with sobs.
It looked on in tearless grief at its collection, now stripped of the vast majority of its treasures, deeply regretting not having turned Leilin away at the door.
Seeing it like this, Leilin found it somewhat amusing: "Who do you think I am? Someone who buys things without paying? Do you really think I'm not worried about you reporting me to the guard patrol or some guardian afterward? After all, I've read the rules of Iyas Port quite carefully!"
Leilin's words made the small figure tremble even more: "Respected my lord! This humble one absolutely had no such intention…"
"Enough, enough! Take it when I tell you to take it!" Leilin tossed a bag of pink pearls before the small figure.
The common currency of the Purgatory World was neither Magic Stones nor Astral Stones, and Leilin certainly couldn't produce those without exposing himself.
Since the entire Purgatory World lacked unification, each Overlord's territory had different currencies and units of measurement. In long-distance trade, barter remained a very popular form of exchange.
When Leilin was on Gaggaer's ship, he had used his abilities to collect quite a number of deep-sea items. Though he had only dabbled casually, with the assistance of the Chip and his spiritual power, he had found quite a few valuable things. Upon discovering this, Gaggaer had been greatly alarmed and, after paying a large quantity of these pink pearls, purchased most of the items from Leilin.
Leilin was happy to part with them in exchange for some common currency of this world.
These pink pearls were very popular in this region and held considerable value. A small bag would be enough to purchase everything in this shop.
"Th-thank you, my lord! Oh! My lord! You are the stars in the heavens, the favored of the Overlords! Your greatness and selflessness, your fairness and justice, shall be widely praised throughout the multiverse…"
Seeing that Leilin genuinely wanted a fair trade rather than coercion, the small figure was practically moved to tears of gratitude.
Even a hymn of praise issued directly from its mouth, which sent chills down Leilin's spine.
"Enough! Enough! Our transaction is complete! I'll be going now!"
Unable to endure the other's singing voice any longer — especially one transmitted through psychic power, which was even more terrifying than noise pollution — Leilin simply picked up his goods and walked out.
Crash! Crash!
After he departed, the two massive shells of the shop slammed shut, shifted suddenly, and plunged into the nearby ocean, sending up a huge splash.
"Huh? Why did Old Cripple's shop close so early today?"
Several passing xenos looked quite surprised: "Doesn't he enjoy prying into customers' secrets for fun? There was even that case where he scared a saltwater octopus half to madness…"
Then, as if realizing something, they all cast awed glances at Leilin, who had just emerged from the shop, before instantly vanishing into the crowd.
"It seems this shop has quite a reputation in this area. Not exactly a good one, though!"
Leilin shook his head with some exasperation and walked deeper into the port.
He could now confirm that the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents was the Overlord ruling the Heier Continent. As for how to conceal himself, or even how to break through the bloodline shackles — that would require careful thought.
The first priority, however, was to settle down in Iyas Port.
After all, strict curfew was enforced here. Without proof of residence before nightfall, one risked being forcibly expelled.
But with the payment of a single pink pearl, these problems ceased to be problems.
By nightfall, Leilin was standing on the balcony of a luxurious hotel suite, gazing at the scattered lights of Iyas Port, the distant lighthouse, and the pitch-black sea beyond.
Near the port, brilliant reflections of various colors shimmered across the water, full of mesmerizing radiance.
"What a prosperous and beautiful port…" But in Leilin's eyes, there was a certain depth. He sighed softly.
After drawing the curtains, Leilin half-reclined on a soft sofa and closed his eyes in contemplation.
Since breaking the bloodline shackles required confronting the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents — and she was on the Heier Continent — that was, in a sense, fortunate.
"My concealment techniques, combined with the Dreamless Mask's bloodline suppression, should have a very good chance of passing even large-scale soul scans. As long as I don't come face-to-face with her directly, I might even be able to infiltrate the Holy City of Serpents on the Heier Continent itself…"
A peculiar light flickered in Leilin's eyes.
Even a being at the Rule level couldn't instantly scan an entire continent's souls, let alone detect every single life force on it. That would require reaching the ninth rank — omnipotence and omniscience.
And what radiated from Leilin's body was the bloodline of the Devil White Phosphorus Snake. With this layer of concealment, the entire Heier Continent was practically his own back garden.
His research into bloodlines gave him confidence that even the Devil White Phosphorus Snake's own kin wouldn't be able to identify him.
Unless a Rule-level existence had emerged among the Devil White Phosphorus Snake — or an Emperor, perhaps — but that was impossible. The Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents would never allow it.
"It seems venturing into the Heier Continent is a necessity! And I should change my appearance as well!"
On Gaggaer's ship, Leilin had maintained his original appearance. After arriving at Iyas Port, he had been cloaked entirely in a hooded mantle.
But to infiltrate the Heier Continent, as an extra precaution, he planned to take on yet another form.
"The Dreamless Mask will need an additional layer of concealment as well. On the Heier Continent, there will certainly be mixed-blood descendants of the Devil White Phosphorus Snake too. I just need to keep my appearance consistent with theirs…"
After finishing his thoughts, Leilin looked through the window at the massive gray bird sculpture atop the mountain, his expression dark and uncertain.
"What exactly does the existence of the Filth Bird signify?"
For this port on the edge of the Heier Continent to so strangely worship the Filth Bird — Leilin found it quite puzzling.
After all, the implications behind this were well worth pondering.