Gong Bai, a native of Lu Country, had only attained the Divine Arrival realm at the age of fifty-three, and that through sheer serendipity. Yet, this “serendipitous” path was far from gentle. As the serpent has its ways and the rat its, so too do different men forge their own paths.

The common folk of Lu Country relied on the mountains and rivers for sustenance; he, being in Lu Country, naturally subsisted on the Water Tribe.

Lu Country, ironically termed the “Country Upon Water,” stood as the most glaring embodiment of the conflict between humans and the Water Tribe, and was indeed the tribe’s most hated adversary. At every convening of the Yellow River Conclave, the ancient dragon residing in the Long River Dragon Palace would don his finest raiment and sit attentively upon the River-Observing Platform to witness the ceremony.

The Water Tribe of Qing Jiang in Zhuang Country swore fealty to the Zhuang Court; the water mansion of Lan River in Yong Country perpetually warred for the Yong Court; and the Water Tribe of Wei River served as elites within the Qin army. Such was the general state of affairs across the land. The alliance between the Human Race and the Water Tribe, forged in antiquity, had endured to this day, fostering an intimacy devoid of estrangement, one of friendship, not enmity.

In the tens of thousands of years of harmonious coexistence between humans and the Water Tribe – or rather, the Water Tribe’s complete subjugation to the Human Race – the events unfolding in Lu Country perhaps couldn’t even be labeled “contradiction.”

Contradiction implies a mutual relationship, whereas the situation in Lu Country was more accurately a unilateral bullying of the Water Tribe.

Every resident of Lu Country was adept in water, every one skilled in piloting a boat.

The cultivators of Lu Country were universally proficient in Water Element Dao techniques… or rather, proficient in “techniques for dealing with the Water Tribe,” a more fitting description. In Lu Country, the trade in Water Tribe slaves was almost semi-public business, a practice explicitly prohibited in many other places.

Indeed, the slave trade itself had once been a business strictly forbidden by law, a fact not uncommon throughout history.

The enslavement of one group of people by another was a constant throughout the annals of the Human Race.

Before Wu, the wise soldier and “Ancestor of Soldiers,” one of the Human Emperor’s Eight Ministers, rose to prominence, “Extraordinary Cultivators” and “ordinary people” were almost regarded as two separate worlds. Many who were born with open meridians in that era viewed themselves as human and others as mere apes.

It was only later, with the burgeoning of Qi Blood rushing through meridians, and the rise of the Soldier Family… it was precisely the amassed power of countless ordinary people that finally ended the era of extreme darkness.

Of course, even now, there are many whose strength surpasses that of ordinary humans, whose wisdom transcends mortal intellect, and whose wealth dwarfs that of kings, who still do not regard others as human. But such a view can no longer become the mainstream; it violates the moral concepts of the present world and contravenes the laws of various nations… Any knowledgeable scholar can therefore step forward to uphold justice. Just as Jiang Li initially punished Mu Heng in Qing Yang Town, this was for the sake of great justice.

In the present world, there were once countries that openly traded in Human Race slaves, rapidly rising to power through the immense profits of this trade.

Later, Han Shen Ju, Wu Bing Yi, and Gong Sun Bu Hai, the three Great Rulers and Punish Officials, joined forces to destroy such a country, thus suppressing this trend. For instance, the fighting arenas prevalent in the North Domain initially widely used slaves in death matches.

Now, with the exception of death row prisoners, the vast majority of fighters are voluntary participants who sign contracts with the arenas and receive corresponding remuneration. The existence of slaves is not permitted.

The only remaining instances of Human Race slavery are the prisoners of war captured after countries attack each other in times of conflict.

There has always been a segment of people who hold the view that “mutual attacks between countries are all unrighteous, and ritual and friendship are damaged thereby,” and thus firmly oppose war. A very important reason for this stance is that the fate of prisoners of war makes people feel “as if still in ancient times.” (See “Four Seas Strange Records”)

Of course, Demon Lords, the Thin Film, and the Asura Race, these foreign races, are not within the scope of legal protection and are not subject to the moral constraints within the Human Race. Thus, in the Cang Wolf fighting arena, one can still witness battles to the death involving the Demon Race. But let us return to Lu Country.

Lu Country was merely a small country, bordering Zhuang and Yong, forming a blank area between the three countries, which later became the site of Bu Shu City’s establishment.

Among the three countries surrounding Bu Shu City, Lu Country was always ranked last. Historically, it would at times align with Yong to bully Zhuang, and at other times ally with Zhuang to strike Yong, always following the prevailing wind.

By rights, Lu Country lacked the strength to semi-publicly commit such taboos and make enemies of the world’s Water Tribe.

Behind this, of course, lay complex reasons, but the most important factor was that the present-day Water Tribe was no longer a unified entity. The Long River Dragon Lord claimed to unify the world’s Water Tribe, but in reality, he could only manage his own Dragon Guard River Water Tribe and the Qing Jiang Water Tribe belonging to Qin… Even along the Long River’s course, every segment belonged to a different country. There was no room for the Long River Dragon Palace to intervene.

And Lu Country never provoked those Water Tribes with powerful backing; they always “hunted” in some wild lakes and remote waters. Of course, instances of “stealth” in places like Qing Jiang and Chao River had occurred in history. After all, wealth moves hearts.

Gong Bai, a cultivator in the Divine Arrival realm, served as the Salt Transport Envoy of the Lu Country capital’s Salt Transport Office.

As the yamen controlling Lu Country’s economic lifeline, this office was named “Salt Transport,” but what it actually transported was an almost open secret.

In the small Lu Country, Gong Bai’s status could be said to be second only to one person, exceedingly noble. But when viewed on a global scale, he was self-aware and clear-headed. In recent years, Zhuang and Yong countries had been constantly active, expanding and reforming. Lu Country was small and weak, yielding to both sides, and yet could only rely on old reserves. Although the slave business was considered a capital-free endeavor, in the current global situation, its upper limit was very low.

Trading in the Human Race was a major taboo, yielding the greatest profits but also the most dangerous to touch.

Capturing and plundering the Demon Race, Sea Race, Asura Race… he lacked the ability.

Targeting only the Water Tribe was making the market increasingly difficult to sustain.

Firstly, the number of “wild” Water Tribe was limited and growing more so. Secondly, there was no possibility of openly trading Water Tribe slaves for at least another three hundred years.

Semi-public meant: often, if bystanders turned a blind eye, your business could be done. If bystanders opened both eyes, your business could not.

Lu Country naturally had its own survival skills, but that was all; it had long since hit a ceiling. Lu Country needed a new path, and he, Gong Bai, also needed a new path.

After the expansion of the Too Virtual Illusion Realm began on a large scale, Gong Bai keenly saw the opportunity and invested in it with enthusiasm.

Especially the Blessed Land system, it allowed him to see perhaps the only possibility in this lifetime of contacting a Blessed Land!

Although he had no hope of reaching the Cave True realm, taking even a few steps forward at the Divine Arrival level was a world of difference.

The only problem was that he hadn’t caught the best time. In the situation where Blessed Land challenge qualifications required competition, he had not an ounce of confidence in himself. But he also had his methods.

Some time ago, a terrible “human pill” scandal erupted in Dan Country. Zhang Xun, a heaven’s pride of Dan Country, died in the incident, and the Heaven-grade alchemist Luo Zhong Mian, who led the human pill event, was publicly executed by Gong Sun Bu Hui, the Punish Official.

The Dan Country Lord, the Prime Minister, and seventeen other high officials of Dan Country were also escorted to Heaven Punish Cliff after a public trial. A long period of punishment awaited them.

Such a large Dan Country collapsed and disintegrated overnight. Of course, the collapse was only of the Dan Country royal family, only of the Dan Country court.

A cooperative organization, named “Primordial Beginning Pill Alliance,” rose on the ruins of the Dan Court. It integrated various forces within Dan Country and controlled all pill medicine channels.

After that, the production of pill medicine in Dan Country was basically decided by the Primordial Beginning Pill Alliance.

One could say that the Primordial Beginning Pill Alliance was the highest ruling institution in Dan Land at present. Compared to a country’s regime, it was more like a pure chamber of commerce.

And the alliance members were all those people from the original Dan Country, mostly alchemists.

But the power behind each alchemist made it easy for people to see their origins.

These “supporters” were varied in appearance. They were basically the various heroes who rushed to the scene at the first possible moment after the human pill incident, upholding justice and punishing evil while promoting good.

Of course, the three major powers of Qin, Jing, and Chu took the lion’s share, dividing one Alliance Lord and two Vice Alliance Lord positions. Other participants, such as Song, Wei, Sumeru Mountain, and South Dipper Hall, also received some scattered benefits. Many precious pill formulas were thus dispersed. So-called whale falls, and all things are born.

The collapse of Dan Country allowed not just these few to feast on the fat.

Even Gong Bai, far away in Lu Country, took advantage of the period when the great powers were carving up Dan Country and control over Dan Country’s pill medicine was very lax, sparing no expense to purchase pill medicine in bulk at low prices.

This single transaction earned him a fortune.

Among them were a full twenty grains of Boiling Blood Green Pill, which he had specially prepared for the Blessed Land challenge.

The Chu Country dynasty’s forbidden technique, Boiling Blood Burning Soul, was notorious, a life-and-death forbidden technique. The Boiling Blood strange pill was then created to imitate its principle.

Of course, taking this pill, while elevating combat power in a short time, would definitely cause irreversible damage to the body.

But what kind of place was the Too Virtual Illusion Realm?

All simulations were real, but ultimately returned to “illusion.”

Gong Bai spent a large amount of merit to replicate the Boiling Blood strange pill intact into the Too Virtual Illusion Realm. After taking it, he would gain temporary power within the Too Virtual Illusion Realm without damaging his real body. Even the Boiling Blood Green Pill itself was not consumed!

This was simply a stroke of genius, allowing him to win the Blessed Land challenge qualification in one go. The previous participants in the Too Virtual Illusion Realm, especially those at the Divine Arrival level, were not many. And every point of merit was extremely precious; many were too poor to even enter the Discussion Sword Platform. There was one called Du Gu Wu Di, who also never replicated his sword into the Too Virtual Illusion Realm.

Replicating a pill medicine consumed a huge amount of merit, far surpassing a famous sword. Using it on the Discussion Sword Platform was not even worth the loss. So, unexpectedly, no one competing had ever thought of this point.

According to the current rules for Blessed Land challenges, if multiple people participated in a Blessed Land challenge simultaneously, these people needed to duel in pairs, and the strongest one would be finally decided, only then obtaining the qualification to challenge the Seventy-Two Le Sea Mountain Blessed Land.

In the same period as Gong Bai, eleven people participated in the Blessed Land challenge. Twenty grains of Boiling Blood Green Pill were enough for him to chew until the end.

He therefore, despite insufficient strength, won the various benefits of the East Sea Mountain Blessed Land.

It was only a pity that the Too Virtual Illusion Realm’s Blessed Land challenge still had one rule that acted as the ultimate barrier: after obtaining ownership of the Blessed Land for the first time, one had to guard it once more before obtaining the qualification to challenge again.

Otherwise, he should have already taken the medicine and gone to Mount Lu today. A seventy-first-ranked Blessed Land was definitely better than a seventy-second.

But then again, after experiencing the effects of the Boiling Blood Strange Pill, his confidence had greatly increased. Within this month, he had also continuously purchased Eternal Pattern Vajra Pills, Six Color Spirit Body Pills, and Evil Yang Tiger Soul Pills, replicating them into the Too Virtual Illusion Realm.

These were the pill medicines he had determined through several experiments would not conflict with each other.

These three types of pill medicines could temporarily strengthen his physique, movement, and divine soul, respectively. And the Boiling Blood Green Pill brought an all-around increase in combat power with irreversible damage.

Therefore, when the “fully armed” Gong Bai encountered a man named Du Gu Wu Di, who was extraordinarily handsome, his mood was calm, even slightly mocking.

Red Pattern Vajra Pill, Six Color Spirit Body Pill, Evil Yang Tiger Soul Pill, Boiling Blood Green Pill, four grains of pill medicine swallowed into his abdomen, essence, qi, and spirit all elevated to a peak he had never felt before. In this state, he even dared to challenge Xue Ming Yi, the Martial Merit Marquis of Yong Country, to a duel!

Who dares call himself invincible when he is still alone?

“How many competitors did you defeat to win this challenge opportunity?” To better digest the power of the medicine, Gong Bai took the initiative to ask a question before the formal start of the battle.

At this moment, even his own breath smelled sweet, every exhale heavy with power… satisfying.

Jiang Wang was a little surprised, but only “a little.” The state of the opponent before him was slightly strange. His power was very great, but also very chaotic. Like a pot boiling fiercely, the lid threatening to flip off at any moment.

He even worried that if he acted slowly, the person before him would explode.

He casually replied, “Six or seven, I didn’t pay much attention.”

He had not experienced the threshold of the Blessed Land challenge before, this was his first time knowing that he needed to defeat some competitors to get the opportunity to challenge a Blessed Land.

However, this presented no difficulty for him. The process was even a bit boring. Many people were not as surprising as Bai Yu Xia in the Inner Mansion realm, who could at least bring him many inspirations for sword collisions. While these opponents had empty Divine Arrival power, their fighting methods were too outdated, lacking originality. They couldn’t be called weak, but for the Martial Peace Marquis with a picky stomach nurtured by the Qi Country Academy, there was really nothing to commend.

So, in the Blessed Land challenge qualifiers, he was entirely focused on researching his own fighting system and didn’t pay much attention to his opponents.

Gong Bai’s eyebrows furrowed, feeling that the matter was not simple.

Last month, including him, only twelve people competed for the Blessed Land challenge qualification. This month, over sixty-four people had already participated in the competition, which indicated that the number of Too Virtual Illusion Realm participants was indeed increasing by the day.

And this Du Gu Wu Di being able to stand out from so many people meant his strength was likely higher than expected.

“So that’s how it is…” Gong Bai raised a hand to cover his mouth below, stifling a yawn, and without a trace, sent three more grains of Boiling Blood Green Pill down. His entire person suddenly flushed red, and the boiling blood began to surge.

Seven grains of pill medicine swallowed into my abdomen, my life is in my hands, not heaven’s!” Ah!”

He didn’t bother with further conversation; the excessive power in his body urgently needed to be released. He suddenly opened his mouth, and a fire dragon roared out, burning through the air, lunging straight at his opponent! But he only saw a palm lifted, and the fire he spewed out… was unexpectedly extinguished directly.

And beside his ear, his own roar of “Ah!” unexpectedly echoed.

That single sound split into a sound pattern knife, abruptly chopping at his ear.

Fortunately, the Red Pattern Vajra Pill protected his body, so he only felt pain, not injury.

He sucked in a cold breath.

But this single “hiss” also split into a sound pattern sword, the sword chopping at his lips and tongue!

Beside his ear, rivers and seas churned; inside his mouth, a great commotion like the Heavenly Palace itself erupted.

That sound pattern transformed into knives, spears, swords, halberds, multiplying with every strike, chopping and splitting, growing ever more numerous.

He muffled a groan and forcibly swallowed it down, forcibly suppressing the sound. He opened his mouth and spat out two broken teeth along with the sound pattern sword qi. His flushed face turned black with prominent blue veins; immense power, like a fierce flame, boiled and burned outside his body.

Under this strange sound-based killing method, he dared not prolong the fight. He decided to use the overwhelming power of the pills to crush his opponent like a mountain collapsing on an egg! Under the effect of the Six Color Spirit Body Pill, his speed was so fast that even he found it difficult to control.

His body was like a fleeting light, flashing in an instant, and he had already lunged at Du Gu Wu Di.

Fortunately, Du Gu Wu Di immediately pursued…

At this moment, Gong Bai’s mind was filled with the need to vent his power. He raised his Water-Dividing Blade, his body turning like a flowing light, white frost spraying from his seven orifices.

But on the Discussion Sword Platform, two streaks of flowing light chased each other, circling rapidly.

Amidst them, the white frost twisted and broken by sword qi scattered like mist.

Both sides entered a phase of comprehensive contact, pursuing and killing within inches. In this state, Gong Bai could wantonly wield the power of the pill medicine, every raised hand and lowered foot imbued with medicinal power, fundamentally unafraid of consumption.

But soon, he felt uncomfortable.

The discomfort did not lie in the negative feedback brought by the pill medicine itself, but in the fact that every single action of his seemed to be predicted! His opponent’s sword technique was not particularly impressive, but he possessed a profound understanding of combat and an exceptionally agile body. Every sword strike landed on his most uncomfortable and crucial points.

And that damned sound!

Every time there was a clash, he had to deliberately control his sound. Meanwhile, his opponent kept humming, “Hey, ha,” incessantly. The sound triggered attacks, continuous and endless like a tide, and growing stronger. He felt as though he were squatting on a toilet when an enemy burst in, leaving him in a dilemma whether to pull up his pants or not, caught between a rock and a hard place.

He simply ignited his Dao origin, burned his Qi and blood, and released his divine sense!

He felt as if he were exploding!

Under the effect of the Evil Yang Tiger Soul Pill, his divine sense power was already terrifying, and divine sense combat, even at the Divine Arrival level, was a quite profound technique. He believed that relying on this divine soul crush against his opponent might give him a chance. And that damned sound!

Every time there was a clash, he had to deliberately control his sound. Meanwhile, his opponent kept humming, “Hey, ha,” incessantly. The sound triggered attacks, continuous and endless like a tide, and growing stronger.

He felt as though he were squatting on a toilet when an enemy burst in, leaving him in a dilemma whether to pull up his pants or not, caught between a rock and a hard place. He simply ignited his Dao origin, burned his Qi and blood, and released his divine sense!

He felt as if he were exploding!

Under the effect of the Evil Yang Tiger Soul Pill, his divine sense power was already terrifying, and divine sense combat, even at the Divine Arrival level, was a quite profound technique. He believed that relying on this divine soul crush against his opponent might give him a chance.

This was a case of using one force to defeat ten skills, taking pain-relieving pills to solve a thousand worries!

He felt his power elevating, almost infinitely elevating, vaguely touching some previously unreachable limit.

But just at the peak of his momentum, suddenly, a sword lightly brushed his forehead.

In the midst of his continuously expanding physical strength, Dao origin power, and divine soul power, within the illusion of continuously growing stronger, Gong Bai suddenly felt a wisp of coolness. He felt as though he were a punctured airbag, continuously leaking air outward, “Hey, hey…” rapidly deflating.

This single sword not only wiped away the crucial point of his physical power expansion but also cut off the key section for the release and expansion of his divine soul power… Such terrifying swordsmanship, such a character, why had he only just now arrived at the Too Virtual Illusion Realm?

And the day will come, and the day will come…

In the last moment of his dissipating consciousness, Gong Bai consoled himself thus. When he returned next month, perhaps he would know how to face this opponent again.

After all, not everyone was Du Gu Wu Di.