The Divine Lady waved her sleeve.
The Sky Curtain was torn down the middle, and the flowing light scattered in all directions.
In an instant, it vanished into the horizon.
Luo Daoqing felt the ground vanish beneath him, as if he were being hurled from a great height by an invisible hand, before crashing heavily onto the long street of Xindu City.
Before he could even crawl up from the ground, the first piece of rotten vegetable leaf struck him on the back of the head.
Then, more rotten leaves rained down upon him, blotting out the sky.
A white-haired old man stumbled out from the crowd. He wore a tunic covered in patches and walked with a hunched back, clutching a shoulder pole in his hands. His age spots were visible on the backs of his hands, where the veins bulged with effort.
He walked up to Luo Daoqing and, without a word, raised the pole and swung it down with all his might.
The people nearby were stirred by his actions, their own hatred flaring up as they followed suit and surrounded the man.
Some picked up rotten leaves to continue the barrage, others took off their cloth shoes to beat Luo Daoqing over the head, and even half-grown children picked up small stones from the ground...
By the time Shen Yu and the others arrived, Luo Daoqing had already been beaten bloody by the masses, his breath coming in shallow, ragged gasps.
Shen Yu quickly ordered Shen Da to take Luo Daoqing away. He then turned to appease the furious citizens of Xindu. “Fathers, mothers, and neighbors of Xindu, please hear me out.”
The crowd was not easily swayed.
“Young Master Shen, this man has committed countless atrocities! The Divine Lady wants him to atone for his sins—isn't that a command for us to collect his debt? Why do you stop us? Are you planning to feign compliance while secretly defying her?!”
“Do you still have the Divine Lady in your eyes?!”
As those last words were uttered, the way everyone looked at Shen Yu changed instantly, their gaze now tinged with a faint anger.
They respected Shen Yu.
But it was never because he was born into a prestigious family; it was because he was the first believer to follow the Divine Lady.
Among the believers, seniority meant weight. Naturally, his words were far more influential than anyone else’s.
However, the prerequisite for all of this was his absolute loyalty to the Divine Lady.
If Shen Yu dared to betray her, forget listening to him—the believers would be considered polite if they didn't tear him limb from limb.
Seeing this, Shen Yu weighed his words carefully before speaking. “It is precisely because my heart and eyes are full of the Divine Lady, and because I hold her as my lifelong faith, that I have stepped forward to stop you.”
“The Divine Lady wants Luo Daoqing to atone for his sins for two years. If you beat him to death today...” He paused. “Have you considered whether this would displease her?”
The crowd showed signs of hesitation. “Then letting him go like this... isn't that too easy on him?”
Shen Yu said softly, “Luo Daoqing is here to atone. Naturally, we won't let him off easily. Once he wakes up, I will arrange for him to perform labor—the most grueling work imaginable.”
This was an excellent solution he had derived from the incident where the Divine Seeds were destroyed. At that time, they were short-handed, so he had been forced to send the soldiers who followed Guo Pan to Creek Valley into the fields to farm.
Later, he discovered that this method was ingenious.
It served as both a punishment and a way to increase the labor force.
Thus.
The two thousand soldiers Luo Daoqing had brought from the capital were also thrown into the fields to clear land.
...
On the other side.
Yun Shu was standing on the edge of a deserted cliff, eagerly opening the system panel.
This wave of events had earned her a full 400,000 Shock Value.
With money in her pocket, her confidence soared. She didn't hold back at all as she began pulling from the prize pool.
She went straight for three hundred pulls.
Golden light flashed again and again.
【Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Sword Sovereign of the Nine Heavens Set - Robe Component (2/8): Nine Heavens Daoist Robe.】
【Component Description: Contains the spirit of a Demon-Suppressing Dragon; can summon its form to serve as a thrall (Cooldown: 120 hours).】
【Set Skill: Collect all components to unlock the Sword Immortal skill: Sovereign of the Heavens, One Thought to Break All Laws.】
【...】
【Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Sword Sovereign of the Nine Heavens Set - Mount Component (3/8): Soaring Sword.】
【Component Description: Control the sword with your heart and ride it through the air. Travel a thousand li in an instant, leaving no trace behind.】
【...】
【Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Sword Sovereign of the Nine Heavens Set - Held Component (4/8): Taixu Demon-Suppressing Sword.】
【Component Description: A single swing can split mountains and sever rivers, causing the earth to tremble (Cooldown: 120 hours).】
【...】
【Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Mystic Sound of the Nine Heavens Set - Formation Component (4/8): Mountains and Rivers Map.】
【Component Description: Once opened, this map can protect all living beings within a hundred-li radius from harm (Cooldown: 120 hours).】
【Set Skill: Collect all components to unlock the Blessing skill: Bestow grace upon those who possess merit.】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 310,000】
The pulls ended.
The system watched the silent Yun Shu. Seeing her take a step toward the cliff, it got so scared that it bit down on her clothes.
“Host, please stay calm! So what if three hundred pulls only gave four high-grade components? Your luck has been terrible for more than just a day or two; there's no need to jump off a cliff!”
“Calm down! Calm down! Calm down!”
Yun Shu: “System, you really know how to talk someone down.”
If she really wanted to jump, with the system’s way of 'comforting' her, she probably would have grabbed it and experienced free-fall together right then and there.
She ignored the system.
She opened the set enhancement interface. Only outfits with all components collected could be enhanced and upgraded.
The Goddess of Harvest Set was currently only Level 1. Its skill effects were very practical, so she could prioritize upgrading it.
Upgrading a set to Level 1 cost 30,000 Shock Value, Level 2 was 60,000, and Level 3 was 100,000.
As for the levels beyond that, she hadn't reached them yet, so she couldn't see the cost, but it certainly wouldn't be cheap.
This feature was essentially a gold-swallowing beast.
After a moment of thought, she gritted her teeth and spent 160,000 Shock Value to raise the Goddess of Harvest Set to Level 3.
Checking her balance, she spent another 30,000 Shock Value to raise the Peerless National Beauty Set to Level 1.
Finally, she spent 100,000 Shock Value to upgrade the Mirror of Retrospection Set from Level 2 to Level 3.
The skill of this outfit was also practical. Upgrading it to Level 3 not only allowed her to mark an additional location for teleportation, but the ability to retrospect others' memories also increased from one year to three years.
【Current Shock Value: 20,000】
In the blink of an eye, her Shock Value was depleted again.
The system was dumbfounded.
400,000 Shock Value, gone in seconds?
Yun Shu closed the set enhancement interface. Calculating the four-month cooldown for the Nine-Ear Grain, it was just about time.
She took out the Nine-Ear Grain and gave it a gentle wave. Instantly, a pile of cotton seeds appeared on the ground.
“System, I think my luck isn't bad—it's just that all of it was spent in other areas!” she couldn't help but remark.
Originally, she was wondering what to do about the raw material supply once the spinning machines were built.
Now, she didn't have to worry anymore.
Since the cotton seeds weren't needed just yet, she had the system store them in its inventory.
Then, she looked at the newly obtained outfit components.
Emperor Ling of Yong was addicted to Five Minerals Powder and didn't have many days left to live. When the news of his death reached Xindu, the people would likely attribute it to her words carrying the weight of law.
However, just that was not enough.
The Yong Dynasty was extremely superstitious about the concept of the Dragon Vein.
Perhaps she could stage a performance of severing the Dragon Vein with a sword. This would earn her a massive amount of Shock Value while simultaneously achieving the goal of destroying the imperial authority.
Rate on N.U.
