Chapter 540 - 295: [Congratulations to the Host for Achieving a New Achievement, Triggering a Tenfold Top-Tier Reward]
Chapter 540: Chapter 295: [Congratulations to the Host for Achieving a New Achievement, Triggering a Tenfold Top-Tier Reward]
Inside the East Wing of the Lu Mansion in Taiping City.
Lu Yuan looked at the four beauties on the large, heated bed and couldn’t stop himself from drooling.
Gu Ziye was still a little reserved, her hands pressed to her chest to cover her small, pink bodice.
Seeing this, Zhao Qiao’Er said, "Yue’Er, we’re all family here. There are no outsiders, so there’s no need to be shy. Come on, come over here..."
Gu Ziye was still trying to mentally prepare herself.
Zhao Qiao’Er’s large hands pried Gu Ziye’s away.
Lu Yuan reached in, brought his nose close for a sniff, and praised, "Yue’Er, what did you put on? It smells so fragrant!"
Gu Ziye’s face flushed crimson. "Yuan~ Don’t tease me in front of everyone."
"Look at our Yue’Er getting all shy!" Song Meiqin giggled.
The East Wing was filled with harmonious, feminine laughter.
"Yue’Er, you need to eat more! You’re so bony it hurts to touch!" Zhao Qiao’Er said, lifting Gu Ziye’s stick-thin arm.
Gu Ziye and Zhao Qiao’Er’s body types were complete opposites!
"Aunt Zhao, look! I can’t even cover one of yours with my small hand. I’d need two hands to hold it. I’m so envious!"
"Right? I think so too," Zhao Qiao’Er said with a smug look.
The two began comparing themselves to each other.
Gu Ziye shifted down a bit, poked the flesh on Zhao Qiao’Er’s waist, and said, "You could be a little slimmer here."
Never one to learn his lesson, Xiaotian tiptoed over with a swollen face and quietly crouched beneath the window. He closed his eyes, a blissful expression on his face, and listened to the commotion inside the East Wing.
He thought that as long as he was careful enough, he wouldn’t be discovered. Little did he know, Su Liyan had already noticed him.
"Shh!"
Su Liyan raised the index finger of her right hand to her red lips, signaling everyone to be quiet.
Zhao Qiao’Er and Gu Ziye were topless, playfully poking at each other.
After seeing Su Liyan’s signal, they all stopped.
Lu Yuan was about to pounce playfully, but Su Liyan stopped him as well.
Su Liyan formed several hand seals in front of her, and her fingertips began to glow with a white light.
The room suddenly fell silent, making Xiaotian, who had been listening with great relish, feel confused.
’This isn’t right! There’s usually a lot more action. Why is tonight so quiet?’
Xiaotian, who was crouching on the ground, opened his eyes, only to see a giant, patterned python appear before him, flicking its tongue out at him.
The sound of the giant python flicking its tongue was so loud that even Zhao Qiao’Er and the others inside could hear it, making everyone’s hair—except for Su Liyan’s—stand on end.
’Hehehe, holy cow! That’s one giant spicy stick!’
The supposedly fearless Xiaotian cried out in his heart, but as terrified as he was, he didn’t dare make a sound.
Xiaotian scrambled to his feet and bolted.
He heard Su Liyan’s cold, angry voice drift from inside the room, "If you dare eavesdrop again, I’ll swallow you whole next time!"
Su Liyan’s voice struck fear into Xiaotian’s very soul. He yelled as he ran, "Sister-in-law, I’ll never do it again!"
Xiaotian didn’t stop running until he was a good distance away. Back under the eaves outside the East Wing, the giant python’s body began to transform...
Finally, it turned into an earthworm and crawled away, disappearing into the courtyard soil.
Hearing Xiaotian run off, Su Liyan clapped her hands together. "Alright, no one’s eavesdropping on us now!"
Su Liyan spoke, but no one answered her.
Lu Yuan was doing alright, but the giant patterned python had scared the other three women witless. Their innate fear of snakes had completely killed the mood.
Although they hadn’t seen the giant python outside with their own eyes, the shadow it cast on the paper window, along with its hissing, was enough to terrify them.
Su Liyan saw that Zhao Qiao’Er, Song Meiqin, and Gu Ziye had already scrambled under the covers, gulping nervously.
Su Liyan gave an awkward laugh. "My dear Aunts, Yue’Er, I didn’t scare you too badly, did I? It was fake. It’s an Illusion Skill I learned from Xiaoqian."
Su Liyan and Xiaoqian had exchanged Techniques, acting as both master and student to one another and teaching each other everything they knew without reservation.
Su Liyan had been unable to grasp the essence of Xiaoqian’s bewitchment and Transformation Skills. Instead, she had accidentally merged the two Techniques, creating her own Illusion Skill.
Xiaoqian, in turn, had to thank Su Liyan for helping her learn a new move. And since Xiaoqian already had a strong foundation in this area, she was even better at casting the Illusion Skill than Su Liyan was.
Hearing Su Liyan’s explanation, the other three women, still shaken with lingering fear, nodded and shook their heads at the same time.
"We’re... not okay! You scared us to death!"
Lu Yuan tried to comfort them. "Tonight was a rare chance for everyone to let loose and get together.
Let’s not worry about who’s a Princess, who’s an aunt, who’s human, or who’s a Half-Demon. Just focus on pleasing me, and everything will be fine!"
This attempt to change the subject earned Lu Yuan eye-rolls from the four beauties, who all shouted:
"You’re really getting off easy, our precious darling!"
...
Early the next morning, Lu Yuan was still fast asleep when the four women woke him with a flurry of smacks.
Lu Yuan rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?
Did I only sleep for an hour?"
No one answered him.
Lu Yuan pried one eye open. "Huh? What are you all doing?"
Lu Yuan yelped, suddenly much more awake.
The four beauties all lowered their heads and began busying themselves with him.
"What are you doing? My ladies, please, have mercy!"
Zhao Qiao’Er said playfully, "Our precious darling, you’re talking nonsense. Look at this iron head wearing a steel helmet..."
Just then.
A clear, cold voice rang out in Lu Yuan’s sea of consciousness.
[Congratulations, Host, for unlocking an achievement.]
[A tenfold top-tier reward has been triggered. You have obtained >.]
[The reward has been delivered to the Host’s System Space and can be accessed at any time.]
’What?’
’A top-tier reward, no less!’
Lu Yuan activated his [Eye of Insight] and saw that the [Multiplication Factor: 9] above the heads of Su Liyan, Zhao Qiao’Er, Song Meiqin, and Gu Ziye had all transformed into a rainbow-colored [Multiplication Factor: 10].
As his body continued to move, Lu Yuan exclaimed in his mind, ’Holy crap, the [Multiplication Factor: 9], which hasn’t budged in years, actually leveled up.’
’I always thought [Multiplication Factor: 9] was the max level.’
’But who would have thought there’s also a [Multiplication Factor: 10].’
「At noon, after they were finished with their business.」
The five of them, famished, went to a bustling tavern on the Entertainment Commercial Street for a hearty meal.
After the meal, Lu Yuan returned to the mansion.
Lu Yuan’s women went out shopping.
Back at the mansion, Lu Yuan spread out > and > and began to study them.
Lu Yuan didn’t have time to study his new tenfold reward, >, but since it was a tenfold reward, he figured it had to be good.
Since Lu Yuan had promised to cure Doctor Li’s illness within three days, he needed to hurry up and refine the necessary pill.
Doctor Li’s illness in Taiping City wasn’t just a matter of external injuries or a common cold; there seemed to be some kind of malevolent force within his body.
Lu Yuan guessed he had picked up something unclean on his journey home—something Lu Yuan had never encountered before.
Of course, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that Doctor Li had been harmed by someone in the Imperial City.
Ailments of the spirit were difficult to treat, and Lu Yuan didn’t have a suitable Elixir on hand.
Healing Pills, Nine-Turn Pills... those were Elixirs Lu Yuan commonly used for his own cultivation.
Lu Yuan urgently needed to refine an Elixir that could expel this spiritual affliction and protect Doctor Li’s heart meridians from the malevolent entity’s assault!
’The Carefree Pill?’
’An Earth Level Superior Elixir.’
’The grade isn’t excessively high. I can handle it.’
Having expended a great deal of energy last night and this morning, Lu Yuan, whose lips were slightly pale, swallowed a Nine-Turn Pill to restore his vitality.
Ever since Lu Yuan had absorbed the Inner Cores of the Soaring Snake and Jiutun Tongzi, the Flame that emerged from his palm was orange-yellow.
This Flame could easily be mistaken for a mundane fire, yet it was a level higher than the nether-green flame.
The nether-green flame was already capable of burning unquenched underwater and could not be extinguished even by rootless water.
The orange-yellow Flame was not only unquenchable by water, but it could also burn souls.
Even against a Void Body Da Xingzi with a thousand years of cultivation, Lu Yuan needed only a single palm strike to scatter its soul to the winds.
The incomparably pure orange-yellow Flame roasted the Seven-Star Wind Pill Furnace, and the heat radiating from it turned the entire Lu Mansion into a sauna.
With this orange-yellow Flame, refining an Earth Level Superior Elixir became much easier for Lu Yuan.
The servants in the Lu Mansion, dressed in only a single layer of clothing, sat in the courtyard trying to cool off.
"This is so weird. Spring isn’t even here yet, so why is it suddenly so hot?" the servants complained, dripping with sweat.
"Who knows? It’s just bizarre!"
A sentient Earth Level Superior Elixir flew out of the pill furnace, attempting to escape.
With a wave of his sleeve, Lu Yuan performed a Suppression, muttering, "You little thing. I might have been caught off guard the first time, but did you really think I wouldn’t be ready for you now?"
Already prepared, Lu Yuan snatched the Earth Level Superior Elixir from the air and sealed it inside a specially prepared medicine box.
Lu Yuan picked up a nearby communication talisman and contacted Su Changliang. "Brother-in-law, the Elixir for Doctor Li is ready. Come pick it up and deliver it personally. I don’t trust anyone else with it."
"Of course, brother-in-law!" Su Changliang set aside his official duties and went to the Lu Mansion.
Seeing Lu Yuan’s pale face, Su Changliang asked, "Brother-in-law, it seems that Elixir was of a high grade. It must have consumed a lot of your Inner Strength."
Lu Yuan gave a weak smile. "No, I just didn’t get much rest last night."
Su Changliang nodded in agreement. "That makes sense. After living in the Imperial City for so long, it’s only natural you’d have trouble sleeping when you first get back. You probably miss your own bed!"
Lu Yuan just smiled without a word.
Su Changliang accepted the Elixir, thanked Lu Yuan on Doctor Li’s behalf, and headed for the doctor’s clinic.
When Doctor Li’s wife saw Su Changliang arrive, she cried out, "Your Lordship, is there a cure?"
Su Changliang took a medicine box from his robes. "Don’t worry, I’ll have him take it right now!"
The old woman helped the bedridden Doctor Li sit up, and Su Changliang pinched the restless Carefree Pill and stuffed it into the doctor’s mouth.
Su Changliang gave Doctor Li a light pat on the back, and the Elixir went down.
A few seconds later, Doctor Li let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Su Changliang pulled the old woman away, moving to the side.
The old woman look anxious. "Lord County Magistrate, what’s happening? Was that poison?"
Su Changliang didn’t understand the Elixir his brother-in-law had made either, but he tried to soothe her. "Just wait a moment longer!"
Billowing black smoke poured from Doctor Li’s mouth, nose, and eyes. He scratched at his own scalp until trickles of fresh blood began to ooze out.
Seeing her husband in such agony, the old woman collapsed to the floor and began to wail:
"Lord County Magistrate, we already confessed! Why are you still treating us like this?"
A serpentine shadow emerged from the wisps of black smoke and shot up toward the roof beams.
Su Changliang ignored the wailing old woman. He muttered an unpracticed Spell, and the power in his palm intensified.
Under Su Changliang’s control, the black smoke coiled around the roof beams was slowly stripped away, revealing a black snake hidden within.
It was a Striped Snake with a triangular head, in a Void Body state. It had been hiding inside Doctor Li all this time—who knew who was responsible for such an evil deed.
Seeing the black smoke emerge from her husband, the old woman let out a terrified shriek and fainted.
With the black smoke gone from his body, Doctor Li also grew still, lying motionless on the bed.
The Striped Snake stared intently at Su Changliang, regarding him as a threat.
Beads of sweat formed on Su Changliang’s forehead. In his heart, he wasn’t confident that he was a match for the Striped Snake.
Despite the authority of his Seventh Grade Official Position, the little Striped Snake showed no fear at all.
For this to happen, it had to be either a Xingzi raised by the Court or a Xingzi with such profound power that it was not afraid of Su Changliang and the authority his office carried.
Although Su Changliang was of the Half-demon Race, his strength was a far cry from his sister, Su Liyan’s.
The Striped Snake drew back its head and then lunged, striking straight at Su Changliang.
Having neglected his cultivation, Su Changliang could only perform a Seal Formation and assume a defensive stance.
The Striped Snake’s power overwhelmed the force in Su Changliang’s hands as it shot forward.
Seeing that he was outmatched, Su Changliang dodged to the side.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the Striped Snake struck the doorframe and, like a coiled spring, ricocheted back for another attack.
Su Changliang cursed inwardly, ’A mere snake dares to act so brazenly before me!’