499: Luo Family of Shicheng

Wang Long was a boorish man; he didn't understand and only said:

"I heard it's a major power from the Burial Emperor Star that seems to be plotting for the power of the True Dragon, so they set up a layout in the Prison Land. Later, the Kongming Grotto-Heaven obtained their methods and continued it."

A player nearby had already caught on and asked, "Could it be the Jian Family's methods?"

Moon Abyss replied, "I didn't know originally, as it was a long time ago, but I heard the Jian Family Head has already undergone dragonification and is plotting for the Prison Land. He even personally asked you players if you had heard any dragon roars."

"Then it's likely true. Either the Jian Family was the one who set up the methods back then, or it's related to the Jian Family's ancestors."

Wang Long felt there was more to this matter, and it might have a significant connection to them as players, but he didn't know the specifics. He couldn't help but ask:

"So, what are you trying to say?"

Moon Abyss replied, "Once the immortal path is restarted, the Jian Family will inevitably invade. The first thing they will do is reclaim the True Dragon embryo."

"When that time comes, no Cultivator or even Mortal related to the True Dragon will be spared. Even if you can continuously undergo Rebirth, your methods will likely be crippled and you'll be imprisoned, or your respawn points will be blocked directly."

"So I advise you, it's best not to investigate the True Dragon matter any further. This isn't something you should be involved in."

Some players were startled, immediately realizing the danger of the situation. Their expressions became complicated as they asked:

"But the immortal path might not necessarily be restarted. The Old Ancestor of He Shui Manor is dead, and the connection to the golden body statue has been severed. Jian Linran has no means to restart the immortal path."

Moon Abyss sneered, "The Jian Family is an ancient aristocratic Family, descendants of a Great Emperor. Can you be sure they have no means to restart the immortal path?"

The players looked at each other in dismay, hesitating and unsure of what to do next.

They wanted to interrogate Moon Abyss, but were intimidated by his words.

If they really found out something, how could they escape when the Jian Family invaded?

At this moment, a player said:

"No, that's not right at all."

"If the Jian Family targets every Cultivator who knows about the True Dragon after they arrive, it's impossible for them to filter people out. The most logical thing would be to wipe everyone out; none of us would escape."

"Furthermore, if the Jian Family targets our player respawn methods and blocks our respawn points, it won't matter whether we participate in the search for the True Dragon embryo or not."

"So Moon Abyss, tell us everything you know. We aren't afraid of the risk. No, it should be said that we've been in danger from the very beginning. We have no choice."

Only then did Wang Long realize that they indeed had no choice. The most important thing to do now was not to hide and survive, but to seize the True Dragon embryo before the Jian Family arrived. Only then could they form a deterrent and allow the players to continue existing.

This wasn't just a matter for the few of them, and since Moon Abyss was hesitating to speak, Wang Long and the others knew they had to seek help from other players.

Perhaps they would have to rally all the players to participate in this matter together.

It was imminent... Divine Craftsmanship gave himself a new name, 'Luo Daonan.'

He changed his attire, completely discarding the lively demeanor of a player, and his entire person became very somber.

After some investigation, the Looking Up at the Stars Faction arranged a reasonable path of advancement for him:

First, he would not directly join the Nine Swords Dao as a Servant, to avoid Luo Daonan being exposed quickly without an adjustment period.

Instead, he would first join a small Family in the Eastern Region as a Servant, then move up step by step to become a Servant of another Sect. Then, during competitions, missions, or other activities among the various Sects of the Eastern Region, he would look for an opportunity to make contact with Hei Da Luan.

This way, because he wasn't directly joining the Nine Swords Dao, he wouldn't immediately clash with Hei Da Luan, and the impact of his Luck interference would be minimized.

At the same time, it would give Luo Daonan enough time to buffer, allowing him to fully immerse himself in the native society and avoid exposure.

The Family the Looking Up at the Stars Faction chose for him was not in Yanwang Prefecture but further west.

This Family was called the 'Stone City Luo Family.'

The Family operated a stone mine with a large and flourishing business. Furthermore, they were a Family under the 'Green Feather Sect,' so they were protected by this major Sect. No petty criminals dared to cause trouble, and their lives were becoming increasingly prosperous.

Because of this, when the previous head of the Luo Family died of illness, the Luo Family, which had no external enemies, actually broke out into internal strife. Branch lineages seized power and purged the confidants of the original main lineage, even involving many Servants.

Thus, there was a shortage of Servants and a need to recruit, giving Luo Daonan the opportunity to enter smoothly.

The entire process was beyond suspicion, appearing to be a common case of selling oneself into service. Even the most observant person wouldn't be able to find any issues.

After entering the Luo Family, Luo Daonan was cautious. He didn't even dare to practice cultivation, blending into the group of Servants purely as a Mortal.

Originally, he did some odd jobs like hauling and cleaning, but because of his hard work and good physical strength, he was finally promoted after half a month and chosen to maintain the targets in the training field.

The Stone City Luo Family's training field was different from others. While other Families used straw men as targets, the Luo Family used living people.

Slaves bought from the market, Servants plundered from other Sects, and members of the original Family head's lineage who fell during the previous power struggle... all sorts of people served as live targets for the Luo Family's young masters to practice on.

These live targets once had their own lives, but now they were left with only one identity, living a life worse than death every day.

The Luo Family was unwilling to give the live targets Medicinal Pills, so after they were injured, they were only treated with the most common Trauma Powder. The mortality rate was extremely high, and they needed to be replenished from time to time.

However, replenishing live targets often required going out to buy slaves, which wasted a lot of time. If a young master wanted to practice in the meantime and there were no usable live targets, it would be troublesome.

Therefore, Servants were needed to maintain the live targets.

It was called maintenance, but in reality, it meant acting as a temporary target when a live target collapsed and could no longer be used, allowing the young masters to practice.

This was the job Luo Daonan received.

At first, he found it inconceivable.

He knew the Xuanhuan World was a relatively dark world where dog-eat-dog was normal.

But having seen many grand stories and the methods of Cultivators, he had actually overlooked the exploitation at the bottom.

The Mortals at the bottom could actually be viewed as live targets by their own kind, used to hone martial arts on the training field, and then beaten to death, forced to shout 'Young Master is mighty!' before dying.

This kind of miserable life truly opened Luo Daonan's eyes.

Fortunately, while he was in charge of maintenance, there was no shortage of live targets, so he didn't have to go up and be beaten by the young masters.

This was also thanks to a live target named 'Luo Zheng.'

It was said that this was the former eldest young master of the Luo Family, who had been completely brought down during the internal strife, subsequently fading into the crowd and becoming the lowliest of live targets.

The strange thing about this live target was that he was very resilient; after being hit with hundreds of punches by the current young master, he could actually stand up the next day to be beaten again.

Luo Daonan became curious about him.