509: I don’t like too many rules!

Chapter 509: Too Many Rules, I Don't Like Them!

Seeing Lu Ran's directness,

Lord Lao was a bit flustered.

He chuckled, “My young friend, don’t be anxious. This old Daoist has already notified the Jade Emperor. Just wait for the summons. I will take you to Dou Shuai Palace to settle down first.”

Lu Ran immediately understood.

Since his identity was so important, and the various divine factions were all scrambling to find him, it was impossible for the Jade Emperor not to be anxious upon learning of his arrival.

Yet, he held back from summoning him, leaving him to wait.

Presumably, this was to maintain control of the discourse and prevent Lu Ran from feeling too important.

Such thoughts were rather amusing.

However, Lu Ran was not in a hurry. Since he had nothing to do, he might as well stay and take the opportunity to learn more about the Divine Realm.

Passing through the Morning Assembly Hall, the Lingxiao Palace was directly above and ahead.

But the few of them did not go there; instead, they turned left and headed towards the West Heaven Gate.

The first place they reached on the way was the Imperial Garden.

Although it was in the heavens, it contained many exotic flowers and plants, but Lu Ran was not interested in them.

While the area of the Heavenly Court was vast, its various buildings were connected by Cloud Paths, and the space occupied by each building was not very large.

In Lu Ran's opinion, this Imperial Garden was even inferior to some of the scenic wilderness areas in the Datafication World.

Passing through the Imperial Garden, they arrived at Dou Shuai Palace.

This was Lord Lao's territory.

Before Lu Ran even entered, he immediately spotted a specially constructed high platform in the distance, shrouded in swirling mist.

“That is the Deification Platform. Once enough divine essences are gathered, the Heavenly Court will select suitable individuals to inherit them, and that is the purpose of the Deification Platform,” Lord Lao explained.

At the same time,

Lu Ran also noticed that

Lin Bao'er, who was beside him, looked at the Deification Platform with a face full of envy.

Presumably, obtaining a divine essence and becoming a true deity was Lin Bao'er’s dream.

“After getting a divine essence, one must still use it on the Deification Platform to become a deity? What about people from other factions? Do they have similar structures?” Lu Ran asked curiously.

“Not exactly. Deification is, after all, a solemn matter that requires rituals, and the Deification Platform is derived from that,” Lord Lao shook his head and said.

To put it bluntly,

it was still the old, cumbersome etiquette of Dragon Xia.

He didn't expect that even in the Divine Realm, it would still be the same old story.

“Let’s go, we’ll go inside and arrange for you to settle down first,” Lord Lao said.

Entering Dou Shuai Palace,

a massive alchemy furnace immediately came into view.

It was truly enormous.

Over thirty meters tall, with what seemed to be raging flames still burning inside.

However, no heat could be felt near the furnace.

“We’ll go to the back; there are special side rooms. Although they are not prepared for guests, you are different from others. The Heavenly Court will give you the highest courtesy,” Lord Lao said proudly.

Lu Ran was somewhat speechless.

These deities had also lived for a very, very long time.

Logically, they should all be worldly and sophisticated, but why were they so foolish?

Refusing to summon Lu Ran, making him wait, leaving him hanging—what was this, a show of force?

Then he said he would arrange a good place for him to stay, offering him a treat.

A mix of grace and might?

But Lu Ran clearly wasn't falling for it; it was completely ineffective on him.

He wanted to be on the top floor, and to be honest, the view was indeed good.

He could overlook many of the Heavenly Court's magnificent sights.

Outside the window,

the Cloud Path came into view.

“The Cloud Path connects to Bishamon Palace, Tongming Palace, Yiyun Palace, Huayao Palace, Yuming Palace, and Pixiang Palace, Xingyue Palace, all to the west of the South Heaven Gate. The Taiyin Hall, which is furthest ahead, can also be roughly seen behind Xingyue Palace,” Lord Lao introduced.

Lu Ran's gaze swept over to a dazzling, pearl-adorned tower on the right front, which looked extraordinary.

He then asked, “What is that place?”

“The Treasure Pavilion,” Lord Lao replied.

Oh?

Lu Ran's eyes instantly lit up.

What a great place!

There should be many good things in the Treasure Pavilion, right?

Now that they were Datafication, they were all equipment!

Divine equipment!

Lu Ran was a little excited. If he could go in and pick out a set of divine weapons and armor, wouldn't that be incredibly satisfying?

But unexpectedly,

Lord Lao seemed to have seen through Lu Ran's thoughts.

He sighed and said, “That Treasure Pavilion is now completely empty, just like the Deification Platform directly opposite it. It hasn’t been used in a long time. The deities of the various factions are now at loggerheads, but there hasn't been any friction for a long time. Everyone is hunkering down, holding their ground, hoping that other factions will fight each other so they can reap the benefits. Now, the Datafication World has broken this peace.”

According to Lord Lao’s explanation,

the Treasure Pavilion used to hold many items.

But as deities died one by one, many were lost.

Many were also destroyed by deities.

Some were even stolen by other factions.

The rest were all equipped on the deities themselves.

After all,

there was no point in storing those good items; arming the deities of one's own faction was the only way to ensure their combat strength and resist other factions.

Lu Ran didn't quite believe that the Treasure Pavilion was empty.

However, considering the need to confront other divine factions, it did make sense.

Lu Ran thought unhappily,

if other deities died, wouldn't it be possible to strip equipment from them?

Thinking of this,

Lu Ran scrutinized Lord Lao from head to toe.

He wondered if this old man also had any treasures on him.

“Ahem… My young friend, you should settle down and wait for the summons. This old Daoist still has matters to attend to, so I’ll be leaving first. Bao'er, you should go too; there’s nothing for you here,” Lord Lao said.

Lin Bao'er didn't think much of it.

“Oh.” She then turned to leave.

“Wait a moment.” Lu Ran spoke up, “Bao’er isn’t leaving. I’m unfamiliar with this place, so Bao’er will stay with me and help me get acquainted with the Heavenly Court.”

Upon hearing this,

Lord Lao instinctively said, “Bao’er is a pseudo-deity, without a divine essence. Besides the Heavenly Soldiers, she is not allowed to stay in the Heavenly Court for too long. This is against the rules.”

Rules?

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow and said, “In that case, never mind. The Heavenly Court has too many rules, and I don’t like them much, so I’ll be leaving first.”

With that, he walked directly out.

Lord Lao was startled.

He frowned and said, “The Heavenly Court is not a place you can just come and go as you please. Are you treating it as a game?”

Lu Ran chuckled.

He looked at Laojun without yielding and asked, “What do you intend to do?”

Tit for tat!

Laojun weighed in his mind whether to break ties with Lu Ran. Although he wouldn't kill Lu Ran, would offending Lu Ran affect the Heavenly Court's subsequent plans?

While Laojun was considering this,

Lu Ran's thoughts were much simpler.

Should he kill this old Daoist? How many treasures could he strip from this old Daoist?

“Haha… I didn’t mean anything else. Rules, well, they can be flexible. Alright then, Bao’er, you can stay. I’ll be leaving now. You two can move around freely in the Heavenly Court, don’t worry about anything. I’ll make the arrangements.” Laojun finally let out a sigh of relief.

But he didn't know that

his concession had just saved his old life!