Reshaping the Body to Accord with the Dao
Ansen suspected that he might have offended Survivor whose fate was tied to luck, possibly one of those who had been casually kicked to death in the previous era.
"You're Ansen?"
Ansen quickly assessed the opponent's strength and nodded slowly.
This is just an alias in this world; no Survivor in this world would use their real name directly.
The man held the portrait in his hand, compared it carefully, and nodded:
"Not bad, good-looking, with all the necessary limbs, possesses the qualities of a [Perched Cloud Grade]! Take him away!"
At his command, two men quickly entered the room. They were nearly two meters tall, burly and imposing. They stepped forward aggressively, each grabbing one of Ansen's arms and lifting him off the chair.
Ansen's feet left the ground, like a chicken being lifted up.
He didn't struggle; he simply took the paper and pen with him before being captured, while simultaneously observing the strength of the man radiating the five-colored light.
The manifestation of extraordinary energy, based on Ansen's experience, already proves that his Attribute is above level 12, something his current blank account cannot withstand.
"What are you doing?" Ansen asked the man radiating five-colored light, feigning panic.
The man took out a round pill, pried open Ansen's mouth, and stuffed it into his mouth. The pill melted instantly upon entering his mouth, and a cool sensation traveled down his throat, stopping at his lower body where Qi exploded.
The man, radiating five-colored light, smiled slightly.
"The Dao Lord, possessing supreme virtue, desired to prove the Great Dao of Yin and Yang. Therefore, he scoured the entire world, selecting three thousand handsome men and three thousand virtuous women to cultivate profound arts together and ascend to the Heaven’s Gate, hoping to ascend to immortality and transcend the mortal realm forever."
"So, I've been chosen as the handsome man?" Ansen asked, puzzled.
The man smiled again, "I am now acting on the orders of the Dao Lord to search the entire universe for cultivators. However, the Great Dao of Yin and Yang and Yang is profound and unfathomable. In this round, the mortal Origins of cultivators must first be reversed. You were originally handsome, but now you must change your appearance from male to female, reshaping your form to Dao Integration with the Dao."
Ansen was genuinely panicked.
Damn it, being held up by two burly men right after birth, told they're going to do a radical sex change and turn you into a prostitute—who wouldn't be terrified?
"My lord, my lord! No! I like women, and I don't want to become a woman!"
The man coldly replied, "You've already been sold out by your family. What use is the sexual orientation of the weak and poor? Neither men nor women like you."
Ansen: "..."
Damn, something warm welled up in my head, like the days when I was a dog.
But I was still quite happy.
"It has been thirty years since the Dao Lord last selected men and women from the surrounding countries of Yunmeng. However, Heavenly Desolation world has been in turmoil, the people are impoverished, their livelihoods are difficult, and their fertility is declining. Brother, do you know what this omen means?"
"Are lolis going to get more expensive?"
Su Luo answered hesitantly, looking at the man who had suddenly struck up a conversation with her.
The man was wearing a faded gray long shirt with wide sleeves and a low neckline, revealing a bluish-white collarbone.
The man was taken aback, clearly not expecting this answer.
"Even virgin boys are going up in price... wait a minute!"
The man answered instinctively, then realized his mistake and continued, "Brother, you were just joking. The Dao Lord usually selects young and handsome men, but with the people's livelihood in decline, the selection of beauties this time will be even more difficult, and the rules may be relaxed. I happen to have a way, which I can tell you."
Su Luo was standing Pagoda City, queuing to enter, when she was inexplicably approached by the lewd-looking man in front of her.
Coming to Pagoda City is Su Luo's best option at the moment. Her birth village and the surrounding villages are incredibly poor.
A single acre of spiritual field is one of the few resources available, and its Qi is extremely thin, deeply affected by the Heavenly Desolation.
Beneath the Heavenly Desolation, Qi has waned, the land is parched, crops fail, and people and livestock perish—and there is no sign of it ending. The world outside the city is gray, and the world inside the city is gray as well, but at least inside the city there are still people, still trade, and still a possibility of survival.
Su Luo knew who the Dao Lord mentioned by the lewd man was.
He is one of the ancestors of the Yunmeng Kingdom — Dieyi Daojun. A cultivator at the Golden Core realm, he has been practicing for five hundred years and every so often collects cultivation techniques from young men and women.
The quality of these young men and women must be the best—excellent in appearance and cultivation aptitude. They are offered as tribute by the rulers of the Yunmeng Kingdom and various powerful forces, and are usually accompanied by extremely bloody power struggles and exchanges of interests.
It can be said that if a young person with good cultivation aptitude and appearance does not become a disciple of a powerful force, they are very likely to be used as a cultivation vessel.
"I'm afraid that won't work. I'm almost thirty years old. I may be good-looking, but my aptitude is lacking. I definitely won't be selected."
23-year-old Su Luo shook her head, showing absolutely no interest in the channels this guy was talking about.
The social structure of this world is a typical mafia-style cultivation world, almost entirely reliant on the ecosystem of the strong. The needs and ideas of Golden Core cultivators are the national needs and policies of the country.
When Golden Core said he wanted to cultivate, the entire country scavenged young boys and girls for him. When Golden Core said he wanted spiritual materials, the entire country's merchant guilds bought them up for him. When Golden Core said he wanted to establish a sect, the entire country's Leyline cleared out for him.
The Dao Lord's talent selection process is essentially equivalent to the national college entrance examination. Once these furnace cauldrons are selected to a certain extent, they will gain priority in the [Qi Awakening Ritual], which is quite abnormal.
It may seem absurd, but it's true. If Dao Lord wanted talent from Chishi, he would cultivate a Chishi culture in all the kingdoms.
The people in front of me are like a hybrid of a brothel madam and a scalper, searching for ordinary geniuses in the mortal Mortal Realm, but most of them are frauds.
"Brother, you are mistaken. The situation is completely different this time. Appearance comes first, and aptitude second. The Dao Lord has given us four days to gather the necessary people; you understand the deeper meaning behind this."
The lewd man didn't give up. Su Luo used Ban Xu's appearance, and Ban Xu's appearance was quite good.
Su Luo refused again and waited in line.
After being questioned, he presented his entry documents, entered the city, and went straight to the yamen (government office).
"Right now, the focus is still on rebuilding, and it feels like rebuilding will be a constant throughout this Large Dungeon... Next, we need to find other people, places rich in Qi, and high-grade spiritual materials, plus the Qi Awakening Ritual."
It took Su Luo about six hours to travel to Pagoda City. By then, her spiritual Attribute had reached level 12, making her capable of easily defeating any Qi Refining cultivator in this world.
As for cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage, there are no more than twenty in the entire Pagoda County, and there are not a single True Person at the Violet Palace Realm in Pagoda City.
Only one Immortal Sect near Pagoda County, called Azure Cloud Sect, possesses Violet Palace Adept.
The Immortal Sect is also a place Su Luo will need to go to soon. The Immortal Sect is the place where cultivation resources are most concentrated in a region. Mortal kingdoms are generally the birthplaces of immortals and the kin of immortal families, and their resources are extremely scattered.
Furthermore, the Survivors will definitely flock to the Immortal Sects, making the major Immortal Sects the epicenter of the Elbow Strike storm.