95: showdown

Deep within Qingyun Sect's mountain-protecting Formation.

Lu Yuan sat quietly in the secret chamber.

The external clamor and madness were completely isolated by the Formation.

Before him, there was only a semi-transparent light screen.

The numbers scrolling on it were the sum of all Cultivators' desires across the Eastern Continent at this moment.

Finally, the number on the light screen, representing the total value of the moonlight resuscitation no. 1 fund, stopped fluctuating, settling at a height that would make any Soul Transformation Elder's heart stop.

The total karma points had already surpassed one hundred thousand.

The Exchange's notification sound rang out at the opportune moment.

“Congratulations, you have completed an epic short squeeze, offsetting part of the son of destiny's Luck backlash. Your S+ credit rating has been consolidated.”

“New function unlocked: Dividend mechanism.”

The data stream in Lu Yuan's eyes slowly faded.

He felt no joy.

In his eyes, Ye Chen's defeat and the market's frenzy were merely the inevitable results of his precise calculations.

This was nothing more than a successful transaction.

That was all.

Just then, the space within the secret chamber twisted without warning.

A figure silently emerged from the Void Realm, coalescing into form.

The newcomer was still shrouded in a wide, dark Mysterious Robe, his presence perfectly integrated with the surrounding Laws of heaven and earth, as if he were an inherent shadow of this space.

Heavenly Secret Pavilion, Mysterious Robed Guest.

This time, the Law Qi around his body, which was usually as stable as a mountain, became disordered.

The transcendent and indifferent aura belonging to the Heavenly Secret Pavilion was replaced by a heavy pressure.

“Your courage is even greater than I imagined.”

The Mysterious Robed Guest's voice directly resonated in Lu Yuan's Divine Soul, carrying a hint of imperceptible dryness.

Lu Yuan did not get up, nor did he even look up.

He merely waved his hand, closing the light screen before him.

“Risk and reward have always been commensurate.”

The Mysterious Robed Guest fell silent.

After a long while, he spoke again.

“Your actions have already caused a stir among the highest echelons within the Pavilion.”

“There are two factions in the Elder Council.”

“The conservatives believe that you have become an uncontrollable variable, a ‘virus’ capable of overturning the existing order.”

His voice suddenly turned cold.

“They propose to immediately initiate the ‘Purge Protocol’ against you.”

The four words “Purge Protocol” carried an absolute will to judge all things and annihilate existence.

Lu Yuan's expression remained unchanged.

He knew this was both pressure and a test.

“If you purge me, what will the Heavenly Secret Pavilion gain?”

He finally looked up, his gaze piercing through the hazy mysterious light, directly confronting the other party's essence.

“A dead, worthless sample?”

“But if you keep me,” Lu Yuan's voice was calm yet impactful, “you will gain a brand new ‘financial model’ capable of bringing the Heavenly Secret Pavilion several times its current profits.”

The mysterious light shrouding the Mysterious Robed Guest's body fluctuated violently.

“The market of a single Eastern Continent is not enough to make those old fellows change their minds.”

The corner of Lu Yuan's mouth curved into an arc.

He extended a finger and lightly tapped in the Void Realm.

Om—

A miniature, extremely unstable light and shadow unfolded between the two.

It was a gigantic steel city suspended in an endless sea of stars, with countless beings clad in strange crystal armor moving through it. Above their heads, rows of flickering runes clearly indicated their respective “value” and “price.”

It was a completely unfamiliar world, yet it followed the same cold Laws of transaction.

The mysterious light around the Mysterious Robed Guest suddenly contracted, then burst open, as if his entire being was about to be repelled from this heaven and earth!

This was no longer just prying into Heavenly Secret!

This was linking to another world!

Lu Yuan did not give him time to process this shock, instead activating another authority.

The karma furnace.

He forcibly extracted the extremely thin Karma line between himself and Ye Chen from the Void Realm and cast it into the invisible furnace.

The furnace roared, and eventually, a wisp of incredibly pure golden Qi, not belonging to any energy of this world, was refined, exuding a contradictory charm of creation and destruction.

“This is...”

The Mysterious Robed Guest's voice broke for the first time, a violent tremor at the Divine Soul level.

“I call it, Origin.”

Lu Yuan explained.

“I can refine intangible Karma into the ‘Origin’ that constructs everything. I can also link to other worlds and introduce their ‘value’ into our market.”

He withdrew all the anomalies, and the secret chamber returned to silence.

Lu Yuan looked back at the Mysterious Robed Guest, who was now completely speechless, and asked, word by word:

“Now, do you think my value is enough to make the Elder Council change their minds?”

Dead silence.

The aura around the Mysterious Robed Guest was more chaotic than ever, indicating the intense internal struggle within him.

He represented the “reformist” faction within the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, who yearned for change.

They had long been dissatisfied with the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's unchanging, transcendent role as mere “observers” and “recorders” throughout eternity.

They longed to enter the game.

And what Lu Yuan had revealed was precisely the ultimate weapon they had dreamed of, capable of overturning the entire chessboard!

After a while, the Mysterious Robed Guest finally stabilized his form again, his voice now imbued with a solemnity that came from the depths of his Divine Soul.

“Within the Pavilion, I will secure the highest level of ‘cooperator’ status for you.”

“As a token of sincerity, I will grant you access to a portion of top-secret intelligence, which only Elders have the authority to view.”

Lu Yuan nodded.

This was what he truly wanted.

The Mysterious Robed Guest raised his hand, and a new light screen unfolded before him.

“Your target for this journey, the nine revolutions soul returning grass, is merely one of the ‘sacrifices’ needed to open the core area of the Burial God Abyss.”

“The true core is an ancient treasure called the nine-segment demon suppression key.”

“According to divination, it is about to emerge.”