1136 Travel (II)

'He's also responsible for the current situation,' Yan Liling thought, secretly glancing at Cui Guoliang. 'His indecisive nature has immensely aggravated the situation. Hopefully, he will be more open to my persuasion.'

The group soon arrived at a large hall with a grant banquet decorated with gold, purple, and white-all colors associated with nobility and immortality. They served the finest wine-refined by these top Alchemists-and top-grade spiritual food for such an honored guest.

Yan Liling tasted all the delicacies, and many of them still had some effect on her real body. Then, she noticed a noodle dish that was releasing a dark aura.

"What's that?

"

"Oh, that's a dish from the Curse Haven World. We didn't know your taste, so we thought of trying many different things. Apologies for the mistake,

" the Diligent Pill Emperor explained as he motioned someone to take the dish away.

"No need,

" Yan Liling declined.

"I've never tasted something so strange, so it should be an experience.

" The Curse Haven World was an interesting world in which the Dao of Curses overwhelmed the others. So, no matter what Dao someone cultivated inside, they will be corrupted to involve Curse Dao. Even outsiders cannot spend too long inside unless they have something like a Domain to protect themselves.

She slurred the black crunchy noodles, and despite eating such an unappealing dish, she looked as majestic and noble as ever. Yan Liling then heard an intense scream in her head, followed by pain. However, this kind of pain was not the suffering kind, but the painful but pleasurable kind.

'I guess I now know this food's target,' she thought as she wiped her food.

"How is it?

"

"Better than I anticipated,

" she replied.

"Do you think the rumors about the Yin-Yang Curse King were true?

"

"Are you talking about the one that said he created the Ultimate Curse capable of killing anyone in the Great Emperor Realm? Or the one about his mother?

"

"The former.

"

"It's probably propaganda, or his work has been glamorized after his death,

" replied Cui Guoliang. If such a curse exists, it would mean it could kill the First Heavenly Emperor without giving him the chance to resist. Cui Guoliang saw this man's strength from the Dream World, so he would not believe such a thing existed. And if it did, it would be too scary; he would want such a curse to be eradicated from the annals of history.

"I feel the same,

" nodded Yan Liling. The Curse Haven World was an interesting world. Before what happened to the Nine Devil God World, it was one of the rare Heaven Will Worlds that could give birth to more than one Great Emperor - which were then called Curse Kings.

However, like all worlds with this composition, it sacrificed quality for quantity, so the highest level of achievement was First Class - 15% to be precise - and achieving higher classification was like playing a game in nightmare difficulty. However, some people succeeded, three to be exact, and they succeeded in the same generation.

The Yin-Yang Curse King, the Malevolent Curse King, and the Shadow Curse King have spent their entire life competing all the way to their Heaven Will Battle. They were pretty evenly matched until this point when the Shadow Curse King became a pseudo-Eternal while the other two became true Eternals, leaving him out of the competition.

Even after proving the Dao, these two continued their battles to prove who was the best. Then, they had one last legendary fight before ascending, which resulted in the Malevolent Curse King's victory. However, he claimed he would not accept that victory because the Yin-Yang Curse King had created an Ultimate Curse but chose not to use it at the last minute.

Since then, rumors of this ultimate curse have spread from the Curse Haven World to the Endless Void. However, most people agree that it has been exaggerated due to the fierce reputation the world used to have.

The banquet continued for a few hours, and Yan Liling enjoyed herself. She felt slightly cramped back home, so this outing was the perfect distraction. Now, it was time for the official discussions.

"If you don't mind, I will be direct about my purpose.

"

"Please.

" Cui Guoliang was not fond of these political talks, where people spoke in circles, never stating what they wanted or meant.

"I have a few purposes for coming. Firstly, I'm here for a Dao Preaching Session with your excellency and many other talented alchemists of this world. They don't have to be only Immortals, but people with genuine skills.

"

"I would be more than happy,

" Cui Guoliang replied immediately. He was currently ranked third on the Pill Emperor List, and such a session might allow him to acquire the second spot. For someone like him, wealth was meaningless - only honor and his pill-refining skills mattered.

"This is my second purpose,

" Yan Liling announced as she summoned the talisman.

"Previously, your world's establishment of the Dream World was incomplete. This talisman should change that.

"

Cui Guoliang hesitated while the ministers had varying reactions, mostly negative. After this world connected to the Dream World, Xu Shi's power was needed to set up the Battle Tower as she summoned imprints from across space-time so people could either learn their skills or compete with them. However, she's not Wang Wei, so she was limited on the amount of imprints she could condense unless she spent years on this job.

More importantly, these alchemists protested immensely. They did not want certain imprints to be condensed since that would reveal their most secret techniques, including the Pill Monarchs and Pill Saints. The ordeal was about to turn into a complicated situation that Wang Wei needed to decide, but Xu Shi was tired of all that nonsense and just left.

"About this,

" said a minister who coughed so people could focus on him.

"We've sent an application to the court. We would like to argue our case that the decision to include these imprints should fall under world internal affairs or rights.

"

The Myriad Emperor World's Heavenly Court was technically the supreme ruler of all the courts in the Endless Void. Still, its rules prevented the interference of other courts - unless things like the Dream World were involved. Then, things became complicated.

"Our mission and goal is to create the most prosperous era of the lower dimension, and your actions have limited the development of Pill Dao, so your case has been rejected.

"

"You can't do that!

"

"But I can,

" Yan Liling replied calmly before summoning a scroll with Wang Wei's stamp on it; these people's faces turned ugly.

"I want to use the more courteous way, but you forced me.

" She was interested in learning from all the world's emperors and other talented alchemists. She especially wanted to know how the two Pill Saints refined their Dao Pills.

"I call for an appeal,

" declared another minister.

"That's enough. Aren't you tired of embarrassing us?

" Cui Guoliang finally intervened. He knew this woman was the little sister of the First Heavenly Emperor, and this man has shown consistently that as much as he wants others to follow the rules, as much as he is willing to follow them to ensure order and prosperity, he's also willing to break them on a whim.

So, even if their appeal passed, as long as she asked, he would overrule everything like the true tyrant he secretly is. The sad thing is that they cannot do anything since a layer of a wise and beloved ruler masks this tyrant.

"Your Highness, we will accept your decision. Is there anything else?

"

"No, that's it.

"

"In that case, why don't you start with your business while I gather everyone needed for the Dao Preaching Session?

"

"As you wish.

" Yan Liling left the table to follow a servant who showed her to her room.

"Your majesty!

"

The Diligence Pill Emperor raised his hand to stop whoever was speaking. Then, he remained with his thoughts for the next ten minutes.

"How about we build a Pill Saint monument for her?

"

"What?

"

"Not just her, but all the Pill Monarchs' talents we have in this generation. Better yet, we can do so for every talent in the lower dimension.

"

"This....

"

"This conversation made me realize that if we do not change with the times, we will be left behind,

" continued the Diligence Pill Emperor.

"It also made me realize that our world was in a unique situation, one we can take advantage of to ensure our lasting prosperity.

"

The room was quiet for a few seconds before someone spoke:

"This might not be a bad idea. If we can make these monuments and have their owner acknowledge it, it can increase our world's Qi Luck - just like any of the Dream World's lists.

"

"If we do this, we will need something to lure these people in.

"

"So, we're just going to reveal our secret techniques like that?

"

"There are far better and more valuable techniques than ours, but these people were still willing to share them.

"

Cui Guoliang frowned as he sensed these people might start arguing again.

"Alright, it's decided. Let's start by acknowledging the four new Pill Monarchs.

"