Chapter 293: Killing You Is the Point

In the lounge area, Xiao Yulv declared, "Bomb! Anything else you gentlemen would like to ask?"

"How is it another bomb!" Gongsun Chui's aged face darkened as he stared at the cards in his hand, not a single one of which he had managed to play. Looking over at the massive pile of spirit crystals accumulating on Xiao Yulv's side, he fell silent.

"That should be enough, shouldn't it?" Gongsun Chui murmured in a low voice.

Gongyi Xiu nodded. "The proprietor is absent from the shop, yet he can be reached via an implement known as Penguin Communication, allowing even for online face-to-face conferences... Hmph! Merely playing the ghost to deceive people!"

"Nevertheless, it is said that the arms employed by the military of the Great Jin Country were all learned within this establishment. Since the shop does not refuse us entry, does it not mean we might learn them as well?" Gongsun Chui said, his voice cold. "According to him, Gongshu Kuo's Heaven-Toppling Awl was intercepted by a spell called the Magic Shield. Heh! If I were to equip a ten-thousand-strong army of cultivators with such a spell, could the Jin military truly withstand me?"

"Mhm!" Gongyi Xiu nodded. "There is reason in that. According to his account, quite a few cultivators purchased it yesterday. A secret manual costs two hundred spirit crystals, and with the aid of the shop's magical artifact known as a 'computer', one can master it with the utmost speed. However, learning it in this fashion permits only intuitive comprehension; it cannot be conveyed through words... Intriguing."

"Yet in this manner, to swiftly equip such a legion of cultivators, the expenditure would be exorbitant!" Gongyi Xiu remarked. "Two hundred spirit crystals for a Magic Shield manual, one hundred spirit crystals for a Ghost Shield manual..."

"Ordinary factions likely cannot afford such a sum!" Gongsun Chui observed. "No wonder the Jin military possesses so few cultivators versed in these spells."

"But what our Yundian Upper Domain lacks least is spirit crystals!" The two shared a hearty laugh. "There are vacant seats. Let us log on!"

After the two departed, Xiao Yulv continued playing cards in the lounge area while listening to the surrounding chatter: "Have you heard? The price of Magic Shield skyrocketed to three thousand today!"

"Skyrocketed to three thousand?! Wasn't it just two hundred yesterday?"

"Three thousand?" Xiao Yulv hastily leaned in. "My brothers, how did it jump to three thousand? I was just telling people it was two hundred!"

"Three thousand? Let me tell you, you might not even secure one for three thousand. There is no stock!" a man nearby declared smugly. "Fortunately, I acquired mine the day before yesterday. How could I be so brilliant!"

...

On the other side stood Gongyi Xiu and Gongsun Chui.

"Brother Gongyi, which one shall we try first?"

"Try which one?" Gongyi Xiu sneered. "We shall activate them all and test them one by one. Did that Xiao lad not say it? Once thoroughly studied, every single one is of immense utility; it is merely that some yield faster results than others."

"Before that, however, let us first meet the proprietor of this establishment and fathom his depths!"

They clicked open Penguin Communication.

"Morning Star Sea Realm... Big Boss Fang... Add Friend..." The two followed the steps Xiao Yulv had described. "Oh? It works!"

"How would that boy dare deceive us?" Gongsun Chui sneered, subsequently dispatching a message as a stranger. "Are you the proprietor of this establishment, sir?"

"(Husky's Contempt) Who are you?" Boss Fang casually replied with an emoji he had purloined from Nalan Mingxue.

"This fellow—what is the meaning of sending a dog's head?!" The faces of the two turned grim. Most importantly, the dog looked upon them with an intense gaze of disdain, its capacity for mockery nigh absolute.

With a frosty countenance, one typed: "This seat is the Master of the Second Great Family of the Yundian Upper Domain, Gongsun Chui! I seek your presence to discuss matters of grave import!"

At this moment, Fang Qi had just failed in his attempt to hoodwink Ruan Ning and her companions into playing Landlord. He was currently in the midst of coaxing Huangfu Tao, the City Master of Black Dragon City, and Liu Ningyun, the Heavenly Maiden of Nanhua, over to play the game. Playing his cards, he replied with impatience: "Speak quickly if you have words to say. I am playing Landlord, no time!"

"This brat!" Gongsun Chui flared with instant rage. "Utterly insolent!"

Gongyi Xiu's eyes shifted subtly as he cautioned, "This establishment clearly holds not even the Three Great Sacred Sects in esteem; it would be a marvel if he were courteous to us! This shop possesses certain secrets. I examined it just now, yet I failed to detect any message transmission jade signals. In other words, it is highly probable that this proprietor is truly not in the vicinity! In terms of space and communication, they have likely already surpassed our Yundian Domain. Prudence is paramount!"

He then prompted Gongsun Chui to reply: "We also know how to play Landlord. Shall we converse whilst playing?"

"You know how to play Landlord too?" Fang Qi cast a glance at the screen. "This boss already has people to play with... Ah, forget it, come along then."

"..." What was the meaning of this thoroughly disgusted tone?!

Gongsun Chui's aged face turned thoroughly black. "This scoundrel had best not fall into my hands!"

The friend request succeeded.

Your friend Big Boss Fang has invited you to enter "My Space".

Within Boss Fang's room, the cultivators of the Black Dragon Mansion and the Nanhua Sect were gathered together.

Liu Ningyun murmured, "What is the amusement in this game? A waste of time. I shall not play again after this round! Pair of threes!"

Fang Qi held his cards, his gaze sweeping toward the entrance where two cultivators had entered, standing with hands clasped behind their backs, their countenances majestic.

Naturally, those exceedingly magnificent garments of theirs were gone; they were now clad in coarse cloth, entirely devoid of cultivation.

One possessed an ancient visage, with hoary hair and wrinkled skin, exceedingly decrepit.

The other, though also white-haired, appeared to be around thirty years of age. The white-haired man of some thirty years cast his gaze around and spoke: "This seat is Gongyi Xiu of the Yundian Domain. May I ask which one is the proprietor of the shop?"

"Pair of sixes!" Fang Qi played a pair of cards and lifted his head to steal a glance. "So it is Patriarch Gongyi."

Simultaneously, Gongsun Chui let out a cold snort beside him, seemingly with no intention of introducing himself.

Fang Qi peered at the adjacent Gongsun Chui. "This one... your grandfather?"

"..."

The faces of both men turned green with rage on the spot.

...

Ten minutes later.

None knew what the two had discussed with Boss Fang; onlookers only witnessed that their faces thereafter remained as black as the bottom of a pot throughout!

"This lad seems somewhat unyielding to both persuasion and force... He is elsewhere, and we can do nothing to harm him," Gongsun Chui remarked coldly. "Did Patriarch Gongyi discern anything?"

"Upon entering that space, not a shred of cultivation remained. What else could be discerned?!" Gongyi Xiu's countenance grew even colder. "Has Brother Gongsun ever witnessed such an illusionary realm?"

"Every flower, blade of grass, and tree is incomparably authentic!" Gongsun Chui stated. "I plucked a green leaf within, and the veins and textures therein were clearly visible. An illusionary realm is deemed an illusion because everything within is fabricated, yet the illusionary realm here imparts a sensation identical to the real world. Unfathomable!"

"Let us sample these games first, and make further designs in the days to come!" Gongyi Xiu's eyes narrowed slightly. "If a faction truly lurks behind this, and these artifacts are all manufactured by said faction, then... it may not necessarily lack the strength to contend with the Three Great Sacred Sects! We had best not wade into these muddy waters!"

"And what if it is not so?" Gongsun Chui's eyes narrowed into slits.

"Whether it is or is not, would we not know once we let the people of the Three Great Sacred Sects test them?"

"A splendid idea!" Gongsun Chui burst into a hearty laugh. "Then we shall sit atop the mountain and watch the tigers fight! In the meantime, we shall secure the benefits within this shop!"

"We can summon the core members of the clan hither. The Jin military plays Legend, and we shall play Legend as well. Concurrently, we must master the Sword Control Technique first! As for the others that are more arduous to learn, we shall make further arrangements later!"

Suddenly, the screen turned grey.

"Brother Gongyi, how did you perish?" Gongsun Chui stared at Gongyi Xiu, who had just stepped out of the novice village gate on the screen before him.

Before they could speak, a minor warrior named 'Long Live the Great Jin Army' on the screen had already commenced reviling: "From whence did this little brat come, daring to take the surname Gongyi? As a person of Great Jin, do you so love to grovel before the Yundian Domain? It is precisely you whom I kill! Trash!"

"Why the silence? Could it be trash from the Morning Star Sea Realm?"

Gongsun Chui and Gongyi Xiu exchanged a glance, a murderous glint instantly flashing within their eyes. "!!! Who is this brat!!"

"If you play the game, play it properly. What are you shouting for?!" Jiang Xiaoyue, standing not far away, expressed her displeasure. "Do so again, and beware lest I evict you!"

...