A Hefty Price for Silence

"Oh dear... it's really not easy to fool you."

Sitting on the rock Nightless Sky Yong Lian rested her chin on her hand and sighed softly.

Lin Yu leaned against the rock and said helplessly, "I'll say it again... Your Family Head, you weren't really trying to hide it from me."

After all, if Nightless Sky Yong Lian really didn't want to reveal any flaws to himself...

The best way is to avoid getting involved in any of the affairs of the Nightless Sky Family from beginning to end.

Nightless Sky Yong Lian laughed, "That's right, after all, you're not from this world, so there's really no need for me to hide it from you."

"Besides... even if I can deceive you for a while, you will find out sooner or later—after all, I will still be active as the 'God of Wisdom' in the future."

Lin Yu looked at Nightless Sky Yong Lian: "So, I'm actually a little curious... why did you decide to keep it a secret from everyone?"

Nightless Sky Yong Lian laughed, "Of course it's because... if I revealed this plan, the other factions would probably stop me at any cost, right?"

Lin Yu looked at Nightless Sky Yong Lian: "Do you really think they can stop you?"

"Alas... it probably can't, but why should I make trouble for myself?" Nightless Sky Yong Lian said casually. "Besides... they don't know that my becoming the 'God of Wisdom' is beneficial to the Nightless Sky Family."

"To give a simple example... before I Becoming a God, I went to the Solence Family, had a conversation with Kim Solence, and obtained quite a few benefits in return."

"If Kim Solence knew that I wasn't going to 'die' but to 'Becoming a God'... he would never agree to my conditions."

"Moreover, as news of my 'death' spreads... will my old rivals, including Kim Solence, who have been my adversaries for many years, take any rash actions? Will those guys in my family start to have second thoughts?"

"I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of expressions those guys will have when they make their judgments and plans based on the news that 'Nightless Sky Yong Lian' is dead, and when those 'reckless fools' see me return here in Divine Descent manner...?"

Nightless Sky Yong Lian couldn't help but laugh, her pearly white teeth shining brighter than the snow. "Just thinking about it is exciting, Arthur."

Lin Yu looked at Nightless Sky Yong Lian and sighed softly.

"After you Becoming a God... you seem to be even more 'free' than before."

Nightless Sky Yong Lian pouted. "Just say 'outrageous' if you want to, no need to embellish it."

"Although Deity also have many limitations... in terms of 'responsibility,' they actually have far fewer."

"The position of Family Head has been given to Huo Le, and the position of Chosen of God has been given to Fire Apricot —hehehe, at least I don't have to worry about the affairs of the City That Never Sleeps anymore."

"Unless there's a very urgent situation, I probably won't need to intervene... Well, I doubt I'll need to in ordinary emergencies, right?"

"After all, you promised me you would take care of my two daughters."

Lin Yu sighed.

"You're just faking your death, why should I take care of you?"

Nightless Sky Yong Lian shook her head. "It's still necessary, Arthur... My two daughters aren't just capable of messing up matters of life and death."

Please bear with me.

Lin Yu sighed, "Well, I have a pretty good relationship with both of them... A Luo probably doesn't want to see anything go wrong with the Nightless Sky Family or Nightless Sky Huo Le."

"However... this is actually the part of my question that I really wanted to ask earlier— Family Head, it's one thing to keep it from others, but why do you have to keep it from your own children?"

"Because no matter which one... Fire Apricot, Huo Ming, Huo Le, Huo Xian, Huo Shu, if they knew I had become Deity, they would never grow up again," Nightless Sky Yong Lian lowered her eyes and said softly, "I still hope... they can have their own lives."

Lin Yu looked at Nightless Sky Yong Lian, feeling somewhat dazed.

This time, he couldn't quite tell Nightless Sky Yong Lian was acting or not.

"And... by doing this, I can also secretly peek at my own funeral," Nightless Sky Yong Lian chuckled. "I want to see which of my children will cry first, and which will cry the loudest... Don't you think that's interesting?"

Hearing Nightless Sky Yong Lian's cheerful words, Lin Yu gently rubbed his forehead. "I've already seen it during this trip to the Barren Realm; you truly are Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's mother... Now, I've also seen why you and my older sister get along so well."

Lin Yu paused here, then continued, "But, it's one thing for others, but Fire Apricot is your 'Chosen of God' now. How can you keep this from her forever?"

"We'll keep this a secret for as long as we can... It will take her some time to Complete Divine Descent. Even with that child's talent, it will probably take her several years to realize that I'm not dead, even if I deliberately conceal it."

After hearing what Nightless Sky Yong Lian said, Lin Yu thought for a moment and then spoke.

"Then... hush money."

He stretched out his hand above his head.

"If you want me to keep this secret, you'd better offer me enough benefits, otherwise I'll tell Nightless Sky Fire Apricot right away—although I won't reveal this secret to City That Never Sleeps, because that wouldn't do me any good."

"But... telling only Nightless Sky Fire Apricot wouldn't cost me anything."

Seeing Lin Yu Nightless Sky Yong Lian asking for favors, Lin Yu looked at him and smiled helplessly, "Now I can truly see it, you really are that guy's younger brother."

"However, I had already prepared some benefits for you..."

As she spoke, Nightless Sky Yong Lian gently waved her hand, and from her sleeve appeared a sealed black metal box and a transparent, resin-like cover in her hand.

Nightless Sky Yong Lian gently tossed the two items to Lin Yu, Lin Yu caught them.

Lin Yu looked at the two containers with some surprise.

At first glance, the transparent cover appears to be empty, but upon closer inspection, it seems to contain a transparent flower bud with stems.

Although the transparent cover was filled with alchemical inert gases, Lin Yu could still sense that the flower bud contained a very powerful Alchemy Energy, even stronger than the Alchemy Energy produced when the "Supreme Alchemy" was created.

Just holding it in his hand, Lin Yu could feel himself being affected—he became somewhat calm, but beneath this calm lay a turbulent undercurrent.

He could feel that his emotions and thoughts were amplified many times over because of the presence of this flower.

Lin Yu almost guessed what it was.

"[Poetry Flower]..."

Nightless Sky Yong Lian laughed, "Yes, [Poetry Flower]... I heard you were inquiring about this before. Although those so-called 'forbidden zones' in the Great Wilderness are terrifying to ordinary people, it's not difficult for me to go in and retrieve something."

"I told you... I won't let you take care of my child for nothing."

Lin Yu nodded solemnly.

"This is a great help... Your Family Head."

As Lin Yu spoke, Nightless Sky Yong Lian shrugged. "You're welcome... There's something else too, please check it."

Upon hearing the Family Head's words, Lin Yu first put away the [Poetry Flower], and then raised the other metal box.

He gently opened the latches on the black metal box, and then...

"Click!"

As the metal box lid popped open a crack, a dark, deep, damp, and malevolent aura wafted out.

It's obvious at a glance that this is neither a product of the Barren Realm nor an aura of creation!

Lin Yu quickly identified it...

This is magic—the magic of the Night Valley Realm.

Moreover, it possesses a similar attribute magic to the [Bottled Dark Flow Waters] that I often use—it is some kind of creation from the Abyss.

However, what's inside this box is many times more dangerous and chaotic than the Dark Flow Waters!

Lin Yu gently pushed the box open a little, and the damp, dark atmosphere became even more pronounced— Lin Yu even had the illusion that he was being secretly watched, and felt a chill run down his spine.

Pure black magic seeped from the cracks in the box, swirling and spreading out like tiny, blinking eyes.

Nightless Sky Yong Lian.

"[Abyss Gaze]... Good stuff from the Night Valley Realm, phew! I used my 'Creator' status to send 'Adventurers' on an exploration mission to the Gate of Boundary last time, precisely to collect these."

"This thing is also somewhat related to the [Shady Corner] you used... To be precise, it was seeing this thing that inspired me to design the initial prototype sketches for [Shady Corner]."

"Nightless Sky Yong Lian spoke softly," Lin Yu said, holding the [Abyss Gaze] in his hand, but he felt far less relaxed than when he had just obtained the [Poetry Flower].

Lin Yu looked at Nightless Sky Yong Lian, and felt a slight dryness in his mouth.

He looked at Nightless Sky Yong Lian, who seemed to have no ill intentions and didn't even know what the appearance of these two things together meant, and asked in a low voice.

"Yong Lian Eiryou... you're thinking of giving this to me as 'reward'?"

How did you know I needed this?

Nightless Sky Yong Lian tilted her head. "I am the 'God of Wisdom'... Even if I can't be omniscient and omnipotent, knowing that you need this shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Seeing that Lin Yu was staring at her without responding, Nightless Sky Yong Lian realized that Lin Yu wasn't interested in joking, so she waved her hand.

"Looks like I really startled you... Okay, okay, enough joking around."

"This... was entrusted to me by your sister—she said that one day in the future, I might need to hand over [Abyss Gaze] to someone..."

"When I asked her what time it was given to whom, she kept saying I'd find out in time—I was secretly cursing her for being a charlatan."

"However... after seeing you, I realized... that I really would know for myself in the end."