The spatula swung wildly.

Soon, a plate of sour and spicy shredded potatoes, rich in color, aroma, and taste, was ready.

Covering it over the rice, Lu Ding began to shovel it down in big mouthfuls.

The Old Man sat beside him, watching him eat.

In his mind, he was already pondering what treasure to get for Lu Ding once his injuries healed.

In his heart, all the items in his hands were junk.

What he was considering wasn’t even his own things.

No, the Old Man was preparing to snatch, steal, and deceive.

To leave no hidden dangers for Lu Ding, he planned to modify the treasures, ensuring they were no longer in their original form.

So Lu Ding could use them with peace of mind.

Only when Lu Ding finished eating and put down his bowl and chopsticks did the Old Man suddenly have an idea!

First, domestically, it was best to stay still. No need to cause a ruckus with his own people, and it would avoid trouble from others coming knocking.

So the targets were overseas.

First, he would get the forbidden burial shroud from the sacred church in the Holy Land. No superstition about it—just a treasure to be brought back, cleaned, tanned, and tailored.

Second, he’d get the best set from India—something called chakra, if he remembered correctly. The Taoist Master had been hit by it before, and it had been quite painful. Good stuff, to be brought back and welded together.

Third, he’d pull out the Vajra staff from their sacred river.

Finally, he’d go to the Pyramid Nation to get their iron chain said to be able to lock the sun. It wasn’t used anyway;

better to hand it over to the Old Taoist.

At this point, the Old Man’s intentions became clear.

Exactly.

What he wanted to obtain were the notorious and infamous killing weapons of the Jing Dynasty, the Blood Drippers!!

This treasure’s value depended on who wielded it.

When the Jing Dynasty fell, the Old Man had ‘picked up’ the most core blueprint of the Blood Drippers.

He had always thought that while this weapon was powerful, its killing aura was too strong.

It wasn’t suitable for use.

But now, the Old Man believed that after he was gone, only this weapon could provide Lu Ding with a sense of security.

Strong killing aura, huge power—meaning no one would dare bully Lu Ding anymore.

Yes!

Exactly!

That’s it!

At this moment, Lu Ding had no idea that Crooked-Mouth Old Man was about to make him a super deadly weapon.

“Old Man? Old Man? Are you okay, Old Man?”

Lu Ding waved his hand in front of the Old Man, who was crookedly grinning foolishly.

After several waves, the Old Man finally took a slurp and stroked his chin.

“I’m fine, fine, just thinking.”

Lu Ding looked at him.

Something felt off.

Like he was hiding mischief.

Hopefully, no one would get hurt.

“Well, Old Man, you keep thinking. I’m going to cultivate now.”

“Go ahead, don’t tire yourself out. If anything happens, tell Old Man.”

As soon as Lu Ding left, the Old Man jumped up and clapped his hands.

“I really am a genius. When these things combine, no matter how the Heavenly Perception resists, it won’t hold for a moment—I'll chop off their heads, hehehehehe...”

He gestured with his hands as he spoke.

“Crunch, crack, grind to pieces, can’t even put it back together.”

Overjoyed with his own inspiration, the Old Man jumped and skipped back to his room to use deer antlers to heal his wounds.

He bit into them with a mouthful of chewing.

It was a bit choking;

his neck was stretched out almost two miles long.

Although the Old Man could also refine pills, in Daoist practice, there was the idea of using one’s body as a vessel, so the stomach served as a pill furnace.

After swallowing, he exhaled deeply.

Taking another bite, he chewed while humming a little tune.

“If you want me to come~ (chewing), who the hell wouldn’t want to come~ (chewing), which bastard wouldn’t want to come~ (chewing and swallowing, neck stretching two miles again)”

India, Holy Land Church, Pyramid Nation: Who the hell told you to come? Don’t come over here!!!

Meanwhile,

Lu Ding opened a cultivation chamber.

There was still some time.

He had heavenly materials and earthly treasures in hand, so he certainly wouldn’t be idle—he needed to boost his cultivation and combat power again!

He took out the Black Clam Pearl, Stainless Jade Seahorse, Water-Dripping Coral, and the Yellow King Astragalus worth eight thousand contribution points, exchanged with Mermaid Pearls.

Today, Lu Ding was going to taste what these foreign treasures were like.

He crunched and chewed them in his mouth.

Once swallowed, the medicinal effects exploded instantly.

The earth inside his body, which had turned sea into land, welcomed heavenly rain, with a rainbow hanging high.

What was originally a barren ground suddenly became vibrant and full of life, tender green shoots sprouting everywhere.

Lu Ding formed hand seals.

Using the Earth Observation realm within his body’s earth as a base, he activated the Heaven-Man Unity technique’s Formlessness manifestation of the Yangtze River image he defined, imprinting it onto the ground.

Boom...

The earth trembled.

Spiritual energy transformed into flowing river water, constantly branching out, corresponding to Lu Ding’s extraordinary meridians.

As the ‘Yangtze River’ settled, Lu Ding felt profound mysteries, his thoughts drifting far, roaming mountains and rivers, flying across stars and the Milky Way.

His hand seal speed also quickened.

The Heaven-Man Unity’s Yangtze River gradually stabilized.

Then, the White Snake Shakes Scales technique manifested the ‘Yellow River’ and repeated the previous steps.

The Sin Dragon excitedly drove the spiritual energy through the meridians.

Sin Dragon: Who understands, family? I was living comfortably in the sea, and he turned me into land. I’m such a big dragon, crawling around in the soil every day—does that make sense?

Although not said openly, deep down, the Sin Dragon was quietly aggrieved and frustrated.

Sin Dragon: How could you be a master? I want to condemn you!

Now that there were rivers, the Sin Dragon was ecstatic.

Although the treatment dropped from a suite (sea) to a standard room (river),

Having it was enough;

at least it didn’t have to crawl through mud anymore. What more could it want?

One Yangtze River, one Yellow River, plus many tributaries—enough, enough, let it be.

Lu Ding’s realm also gradually rose as the rivers settled.

Earth Observation level one, Earth Observation level two.

The remaining medicinal power wasn’t enough to manifest the Way of the Jinche into Mount Buzhou, but it was enough to manifest the Unshakable as Mountain.

Forming hand seals, Unshakable as Mountain appeared.

His realm slowly advanced toward Earth Observation level three.

On the Unshakable as Mountain manifestation, the three characters for Stone Dang were inscribed, destined by Lu Ding’s definition to manifest the famous Mount Tai!!!

The towering mountain radiated dominance, crashing down and causing the earth to shake, emanating an impregnable feeling that pushed Lu Ding’s realm up a step, directly into Earth Observation level three.

Meanwhile,

Lu Ding’s cultivation continued.

Elsewhere,

In a certain research room of the Great Han 749 Headquarters,

An Wuyang touched the collar-like restriction around his neck in front of the mirror.

This path was his own choice.

To cooperate and show sincerity, earlier he had used special means to contact Great Han 749.

He told a half-truth, half-lie about his origins, background, and goals, then revealed other countries’ plans against Great Han’s Heavenly Perception.

In the following time, Great Han verified the authenticity of his claims based on the information he provided.

Just confirmed,

When the counterattack against Wei Gao was decided,

The Deputy Director of Great Han 749, Lü Ao, immediately thought of An Wuyang, who was of Jing Dynasty royal blood and had a restraining effect on Wei Gao’s demon dragon.

It was a perfect chance to let him, before Lu Ding, take a look at the mission and see his attitude.

If good,

Great Han would agree to let him enter the Second Circle through their channel.

The restriction was only to prevent the unlikely accident;

once reaching the Second Circle, it would be removed.

Great Han was not careless.