Old Acquaintance

After the Costumed Woman disappeared, the Blond Woman looked at Elder Maple: "Our Hell Creek Family has never had any contact with this Zheng Yuanqiang. What do you think he means by this?"

"I don't know..." Elder Maple shook his head. "But this woman is not simple. Just now, the moment I released my aura, the step she took back was perfectly timed. She was right on the edge of my Killing Intent. If she had gone any closer, she would have been locked onto by me; if she had retreated any closer, she would have lost her momentum... Putting aside her strength for now, her keen judgment is remarkable."

"Perhaps the Insight Faction?" the tall man asked.

"That's a judgment based on the premise that she belongs to the Insight Faction," Elder Maple scoffed. "If she belongs to another faction, she's even stronger than I imagined!"

"Shall we keep the appointment?" The man looked at the invitation in Elder Maple's hand.

"Go! Why wouldn't we go?" Elder Maple sneered, "To maintain a black market of that scale in a place like Ningdong, Zheng Yuanqiang is definitely not simple. We've been completely controlled by the Yuan Cultivation Society here for over a week without any results. This wild Peak might be a breakthrough..."

As he spoke, he glanced at the invitation in his hand. "The evening of the 15th, there aren't many days left, it wouldn't hurt to go and take a look then."

Meanwhile, Luo Jun had secretly sneaked back into the city, but instead of returning to the academy, he went to the house he had rented for Ailongtan.

After all, Ailongtan is currently impersonating him at the academy. Going back rashly might be difficult to explain if someone sees him. To be on the safe side, it's better to go back to the house in the city center first. Anyway, tomorrow is the weekend, and Ailongtan can come and relieve him.

I walked into the residential complex and went upstairs to my door. Just as I was taking out my keys to open it, I heard the sound of a door opening downstairs. Then, I heard the sound of the evening news and the rustling of plastic bags coming from inside the apartment, as if the residents downstairs were taking out the trash...

Luo Jun didn't pay any attention, shook the key and inserted it into the lock, the clanging sound attracting the attention of the people downstairs.

"Hey? Xiao Liu's back!" A slightly excited voice came from downstairs, followed by a middle-aged woman running up the stairs. Upon seeing Luo Jun, she paused, startled. "Hey? Aren't you Xiao Liu?"

Luo Jun was also somewhat surprised. Seeing the woman's astonished look, he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, you must be Auntie Li? My cousin always mentions you to me."

"You... are Xiao Liu's cousin?" Auntie Li looked Luo Jun up and down. "I haven't seen you before."

"I'm a student, I usually live at school, but I'm staying at my cousin's place this weekend." Luo Jun chuckled. "You need to see your cousin for something?"

"Oh, it's nothing serious..." Auntie Li smiled and said, "Your brother has been away these past few days?"

"Oh, he went back to his hometown in Shun City," Luo Jun said casually. "Something came up at home, but he should be back tomorrow. Is there anything I can tell him?"

Auntie Li nodded. "Oh, just tell him about what I mentioned to him before, that my daughter is back, and he'll understand."

"Don't worry, Auntie Li," Luo Jun said with a grin, "I'll definitely deliver the message. I also hope to attend my cousin's wedding soon."

Auntie Li seemed a little embarrassed upon hearing this, and laughed, "You brothers have such a good relationship. This Xiao Liu tells you everything..." After saying that, she went downstairs and went home.

As for Luo Jun, as soon as he opened the door and entered the room, he began to call out to Ailongtan in his heart.

"What business do you have with me, my Great Master?"

"I'm fine, your mother-in-law misses you," Luo Jun chuckled.

"Huh?" Ailongtan was taken aback, then his face fell. "It's Auntie Li..."

"What kind of attitude is that?" Luo Jun reprimanded, "This person is thousands of years old, an old ox eating young grass, and you still won't accept it?"

"Master, please don't make fun of me..."

"Seriously, come to the rented apartment tomorrow to relieve me, and while we're at it, we'll look into the Midmonth Black Market... It's not your first time there, so don't just go empty-handed; you need to make some money."

After arranging things for Ailongtan, Luo Jun sat in the room and took out a bead.

According to the description, the Essence Stabilizing Pearl can absorb dissipated primordial energy and transform it into pure energy to aid in cultivation.

Previously in the mission world, Luo Jun collected some energy from near Liu Weiyou's cage. Later, when he killed the Seventh Stage Source of Calamity, he absorbed the remaining energy from the corpse. Although it was far from being fully stored in the Essence Stabilizing Pearl, it had been converted and could be used at any time.

Luo Jun is now only a little over ten percent away from the Seventh Layer the Foundation Establishment Realm, so he'll take this opportunity to see how effective this thing is at assisting his cultivation.

Luo Jun placed the Essence Stabilizing Pearl in his palm and began to circulate his Yuan Qi. Soon, he felt a pure energy enter his body. This energy had no attributes. As soon as it entered his meridians, it perfectly integrated into his Yuan Qi, directly promoting the compression of Yuan Qi. The process was extremely smooth, and he could hardly feel anything.

This feature is powerful, but the effect...

Luo Jun assessed the situation and found that the improvement in progress was almost imperceptible, negligible...

The converted energy wasn't insignificant; for an ordinary Cultivators, this energy should be enough to significantly boost their cultivation level. However, Luo Jun's vital energy reserves were thousands of times greater than those of an average person, so this amount of energy was barely worth mentioning.

It seems this feature is still somewhat useless to him...

Luo Jun shook his head in disappointment, then took the Essence Stabilizing Pearl, sat on the bed, and began to cultivate with his Five Hearts Facing Heaven.

But he soon realized something was wrong.

Having just absorbed the energy of the Essence Stabilizing Pearl, Luo Jun encountered almost no obstacles. While concentrating on his cultivation, he unconsciously channeled his vital energy into the Essence Stabilizing Pearl and then instinctively absorbed it back.

Unlike ordinary treasures, the vital energy entering the Essence Stabilizing Pearl does not adhere to it. Instead, it is transformed by the Essence Stabilizing Pearl, just like the absorbed spiritual Spiritual Qi. Moreover, because the vital energy circulating in the human body is inherently of high purity, this transformation process is very smooth and is completed almost instantly.

This makes the Essence Stabilizing Pearl act like a water purifier. All the Yuan Qi that Luo Jun passes through the Essence Stabilizing Pearl will be filtered through it and become the purest and most easily absorbed state after returning to his body.

While the total amount of vital energy may seem unchanged, don't forget that the cultivation of the Foundation Establishment Realm is essentially about compressing vital energy. The original approach was to simply increase the amount of energy by physically compressing it through the meridians. This process is generally long and painful.

However, with the Essence Stabilizing Pearl as a converter, the compression process became exceptionally smooth and the effect extremely stable. As a result, the speed of cultivation depended entirely on the speed at which Luo Jun accumulated Qi.

Of course, Luo Jun, relying on his strong Root Bone, had never relaxed his accumulation of vital energy, even when his meridians were swollen and painful. However, no matter what, the pain still affected his efficiency to some extent. Although the Essence Stabilizing Pearl in his hands did not provide the same level of improvement as it did for others, it was still helpful.

And so, Luo Jun cultivated smoothly through the night. When he heard the door open and came to his senses, it was already dawn, and the vital energy in his body had stabilized considerably.

At this rate, I should be able to break through to the next level in another two or three days!

Luo Jun put away the Essence Stabilizing Pearl with satisfaction, then looked up and saw Ailongtan, disguised as "Xiao Liu," enter the house and close the door, carrying a lot of vegetables and meat. "What's this?"

"I came out early today and went to the morning market to buy some groceries," Ailongtan chuckled. "My master, please try my cooking!"

As he spoke, Ailongtan had already carried large bags into the kitchen, and soon the sounds of water running, chopping vegetables, and AI-generated voiceover tutorials for short videos could be heard simultaneously...

Luo Jun curiously went closer, and what he saw shocked him.

The High Priest stood in the middle of the kitchen, one hand holding a phone and following the steps, the other hand glowing with magical light. Vegetables in the sink were lifted into the air by the flowing water, washed from every angle. Meanwhile, the water in the rice cooker swirled like a washing machine, constantly rinsing the raw rice. On the cutting board, two cleavers were unattended, yet the priest was swiftly chopping meat, mincing scallions, and smashing garlic with remarkable skill.

Goodness, you're using Law Technique to cook?

Under the powerful magic, Ailongtan prepared the ingredients and started simmering the rice with astonishing efficiency. Now, the crucial step had arrived: cooking it.

This time, he finally took matters into his own hands, turning on the stove to heat the pan, adding cooking oil to a large ladle, and once the temperature was right, adding the side dishes.

"Great Master, you must have heard that the essence of Zhendan cuisine lies in the control of heat, and the key to controlling heat lies in stir-frying to ensure the ingredients are heated evenly..." Ailongtan gripped the wok handle, his face radiating confidence. "Today, I will show you what the ultimate stir-frying technique truly is!"

After making his boast, he didn't move the hand holding the pot handle. Instead, he raised his other hand and placed it above the pot. Then, the side dishes in the pot seemed to be scalded and started jumping up and down on their own!

"That's truly the ultimate technique..." Luo Jun exclaimed in awe.

"It's too early to praise them now," Ailongtan laughed. "Watch me stir up trouble!"

The original text can be found at 6#9@book/bar!

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the gas flame at the bottom of the pot suddenly shot into the pot on its own, igniting flames on the automatically tumbling food!

Seeing that the fire was about to reach the roof, Ailongtan waved his hand again, and the flames were extinguished instantly. He turned off the stove, leaving only wisps of smoke and a lingering fragrance.

"It's done!"

After a flurry of activity, Ailongtan cooked two dishes and served two bowls of rice. Luo Jun picked up a bite of the dish and put it in his mouth, his eyes immediately lighting up.

"It tastes pretty good!" Luo Jun took a bite of rice. "Old Ai, you don't seem like a beginner at all!"

"I loved good food when I was alive," Ailongtan said while eating. "But back then, the ingredients and seasonings were far less abundant than they are now, and the flavors were very different from here... I must say, Zhendan truly is a land of delicious food, with countless cooking methods, and cooking every day is a pleasure."

"Not bad..." Luo Jun picked up another bite of food, then opened the Hundred Treasure Box and took out three beads.

"What are these?" Ailongtan stared at the beads, his eyes involuntarily shining.

"Universal Equivalent," Luo Jun said while eating. "Complete a Chaos Mission before the black market in the middle of the month. When the black market opens, use this thing to exchange for some treasures, and then you can use it openly. If Ling Xin asks, just say you got it from a quest."

As he spoke, Luo Jun took out several more treasures he had acquired this time from the Hundred Treasure Box, wondering which ones would be convenient to give to Ailongtan.

In terms of quality, items below Rare-level are more realistic, but this Generous Person Badge is a rare Charisma-type Noble Phantasm, and Luo Jun feels he might find it useful. As for the others, they're all Epic or even Legendary; it's really unreasonable for a newbie who's just started the Chaos Mission to receive such rewards...

While Luo Jun was considering, Ailongtan's eyes lit up, and he picked up the Chaos Card.

"Great Master... what is this?"

Luo Jun glanced at it. "This is a newly acquired Legendary Treasure Item... Like the Skeleton Ring, it can summon helpers. However, this thing's summoning isn't as worry-free as yours. That Big Joker is acting like he has some serious illness, always finding fault and resentment..."

"That's just Lucifer's temperament..." Ailongtan shook his head, pulled out a deck of cards, and took out the Big Joker card.

"Lucifer?" Luo Jun was taken aback. "Whose name is that?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly noticed that Ailongtan's eyes were filled with longing as he looked at the Xiao Wang.

Wait... that angel said the previous Master was an emperor, could it be...?

"Did you ever own this deck of cards?"

Ailongtan nodded. "However, the playing cards back then weren't like this, but the functions were basically the same, especially the portrait of Lucifer, which is exactly the same as it was back then."

"She's clearly an angel, yet she's even more unruly than Lilith..."

Upon hearing this, Luo Jun's eyes widened. He immediately snatched the deck of cards, summoned the dice in his mind, and was about to draw the Big Joker when he suddenly remembered the Great Angel's height of over three meters and wingspan of over seven meters. Looking at the house with a ceiling of only two meters, he decided to change the event.

Draw a Queen!

"Ding! Event Difficulty: 93 points; Final Points: 83 + 15 points; Event Success!"

As the notification sound rang, Luo Jun drew a spade ring card. With a flick of his wrist, a Queen dressed in a black dress with a cold and aloof expression appeared in the room.

The moment the Queen appeared, she bowed to Luo Jun, who had summoned her. However, she then frowned slightly and glanced at Ailongtan somewhat unconsciously.

"Does this look familiar?" Luo Jun smiled, then turned to Old Ai: "Take off your mask."

Ailongtan immediately obeyed, and as he revealed his slightly plump true appearance, the Queen of Spades' eyes widened slowly, revealing an expression of disbelief.

"My... Master?" After saying that, the Queen glanced at the current Master Luo Jun.

"Did the Master give us away?"

"What do you mean by 'giving someone away'?" Ailongtan shook his head with a smile, "Now even I am his person."

"Don't make it sound so disgusting, okay?" Luo Jun glared at Ailongtan.

"I wasn't wrong..." Ailongtan chuckled, "I now depend on my master's vitality to survive..."

"That's true..." Luo Jun nodded, then suddenly remembered something and said with a start:

"I see! I see!"

(End of this chapter)