In a relatively simple cave, He Na lay on her small bed, dressed in red.
Usually, whenever she had a moment to spare, she would throw herself into cultivation with every fiber of her being. But now, she merely stared blankly at the stone ceiling, lost in thought.
Bam, bam, bam!
A sudden knock brought He Na back to her senses. Without a second thought, she headed straight for the cave entrance, as if she already knew who was there.
"You're in quite a hurry. I thought you wouldn't be interested in such a small payment from me!" He Na smiled faintly, as though they were discussing an ordinary business deal.
"Not exactly. But according to our agreement, no matter how Li Hu died, as long as it happened inside this Trial Ground, you're supposed to give me a fund of one billion Cosmic Crystals. I'm just here to collect what's mine!"
Wu Sheng smiled calmly.
"Aren't you afraid I'll tell Li Long about this?"
He Na was taken aback, then suddenly asked.
"No. I don't want to say more about the other details. We're on the same side now, and besides, you still need my help."
Wu Sheng said this aloud, but used his Spiritual Force to completely shield the area around them. To be on the safe side, he even sent his words directly into He Na's ears, leaving her no chance to record any evidence against him.
Of course, Wu Sheng's greatest confidence came from the fact that He Na really did need him. Besides, Li Long wouldn't simply believe whatever He Na said.
Even if the worst came to pass and Li Long found out that Wu Sheng had set Li Hu up to die, he would have to pretend he knew nothing for now.
Because Wu Sheng was worth more now than Li Hu had been when he was alive.
"Here!" He Na pursed her lips and tossed a Space Ring to Wu Sheng. "Take some time to transfer the Cosmic Crystals inside into your own Space Ring, then return this one to me. I'm not as wealthy as Li Long. I can't just give away a Space Ring that big!"
"Hmm, this is too much! Why are there ten billion in here?" Wu Sheng sighed softly.
"Think of it as extra commission. You just need to help me kill one more person," He Na said bluntly. "This person is very ordinary. It won't be the slightest bit difficult for you!"
"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. The person you're talking about was already let go by me some time ago," Wu Sheng said, shaking his head. "She may have already left our squad and gone into hiding somewhere."
"You know who I want to kill?" He Na froze for a moment. Then her delicate features twisted, and the colorful scales between her brows slowly turned black, making her look rather chilling.
Lan Miao'er!
Wu Sheng sighed inwardly. He had known what He Na was planning, so he'd sent Lan Miao'er away ahead of time. Before she left, he had even given her a Space Ring containing some battle suits, Cosmic Crystals, and other things.
"Right. She's nowhere to be found, so I'll return the money to you!" Wu Sheng shrugged and moved to hand the Space Ring back to He Na.
"Forget it. You can go. In two years, the Central Domain will open. If you can help me win the Prize, I'll give you everything you want, just as I promised before." He Na gently closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her expression was blank. She spoke slowly. "Helping me means helping yourself!"
"Fine!"
Wu Sheng readily got up and left. But just as he was about to step out, he paused slightly, as if he wanted to say something. In the end, he only sighed softly before continuing on his way.
The main forces of Blood Sun City had now joined forces with Yan Yu of the Extreme Flame Realm to attack the Realm Lord Clan led by Pesili in the Western Domain.
Yet He Na, a descendant of Blood Sun City's Imperial Clan, was alone in the Eastern Domain. The Blood River Squad she had painstakingly assembled had even been wiped out once.
Considering what had happened to Li Hu, as well as the existence of Lan Miao'er, Wu Sheng didn't need to think too hard to realize that He Na must have a story of her own.
"Every family has its own troubles."
"Some people might seem to have it all from the outside, but only they know the joys and sorrows in their hearts."
"But that's the way of survival. No one gets to have everything go their way until the very end."
"Even the Primordial Universe faces the threat of World Beasts! Who can guarantee that their path will be smooth, and that they'll live forever?"
Wu Sheng put it out of his mind and quickly left the gathering point, heading toward where Leo and the others were.
Tsk, of his several major hauls so far, Leo's was the biggest, at around 530 billion Cosmic Crystals.
After using Mind Control on Li Hu, he'd gotten around 100 billion from him.
Using Li Hu's name, he'd gotten another 30 billion or so from Li Long.
He'd gotten around 200 billion from Li Long by taking advantage of his two bounties.
After Kadi died, there had been around 150 billion in his Space Ring.
Add the 10 billion from He Na, plus nearly 30 billion scavenged from the Space Rings of the dead trial participants.
That made a total of roughly 1.05 trillion Cosmic Crystals.
He already had enough Cosmic Crystals to open the Time-Space Shop.
I hope this so-called Time-Space Shop doesn't disappoint me!
Wu Sheng hid in a secluded cave, feeding the Cosmic Crystals he held into the black hole that had formed from the Time-Space Shop while waiting for Leo to arrive.
A full day passed.
"Phew! I finally fed all those Cosmic Crystals in. It's the first time I've felt like I've given away so much money my hand's gone numb!"
Wu Sheng's eyes shone. Behind him stood a burly, human-shaped figure clad in green armor, waiting respectfully.
"Time-Space Shop, now let me see what good things you have."
Wu Sheng eagerly tapped the word "Activate."
Ding!
A series of golden words appeared before him...
[The Time-Space Shop is a platform provided, with the permission of the Supreme Rule, to a lifeform selected by the Primordial Universe of the Doomsday Era when it faces a cataclysm, allowing that lifeform to improve their strength. Anyone selected has the right to exchange for whatever items they want here.] [Normally, the shop automatically opens when the user reaches the Realm Lord stage. Since you activated it with contribution points at Planet Grade, you will receive a lower-tier purchase discount, and the purchase prices will be locked.] [When you purchase your first three items, the first will be free, the second will cost 1 contribution point, and the third will cost 10 contribution points. Starting with the fourth item, each item will cost a thousand times as much as the previous one. For example, the fourth item will cost 10,000 contribution points, the fifth will cost 10 million, and the seventh will cost 10 trillion.] [Starting with the eighth item, Supreme Treasures will be used as payment. For example, the eighth item will be a Supreme Treasure worth 1 Supreme Treasure point, and the ninth will be a Supreme Treasure worth 1,000 Supreme Treasure points, with the cost continuing to increase in the same way.] [Additionally, you have activated only the ordinary Time-Space Shop, and its activation level is locked at Planet Grade. To activate the VIP Time-Space Shop, you will need another 10 trillion contribution points. Every time you advance by one major realm, the contribution points required to activate it will increase tenfold.] [Only after activating the VIP Time-Space Shop will you have the right to activate the Super VIP Time-Space Shop. Now, here is a general description of what these shops are for...]
When Wu Sheng saw all those zeroes, his vision swam, and he nearly fell over.
You're not giving me anything, and you still expect me to keep activating it?
What a rip-off!
They'd reach into the bottom of a coffin for money—money was all they cared about!