Thoughts and Gifts

"Brother Qingshan!"

Thunderlight Ancestor raised his wine cup in greeting, then asked with a smile, "This time, you went to the Initial Universe for enlightenment. You must have fully joined the Virtual Universe Company by now, right?"

Although entering the Initial Universe only required joining one of humanity's five great powers, Lu Qingshan had previously been an external member of the Virtual Universe Company, so he could naturally only join the Virtual Universe Company.

"That's right!"

Lu Qingshan likewise raised his cup and drained it in one gulp. "I have indeed fully joined the Virtual Universe Company this time!"

After receiving Lu Qingshan's definite answer, Thunderlight Ancestor quickly continued, "Then, Brother Qingshan, after your breakthrough, what assignment did the Virtual Universe Company give you?"

"It's not exactly a good job!"

Lu Qingshan said calmly, "They merely had me join the company's transportation department. From now on, I'll be responsible for escorting important personnel and items under the company's jurisdiction!"

"The transportation department?"

Thunderlight Ancestor was slightly taken aback, then congratulated him. "Then I must congratulate you, Brother Qingshan! The benefits in the transportation departments of the five great powers are extremely good. I heard that any immortal god who joins can be assigned an F-class spacecraft. Is that true?"

"It is!"

Lu Qingshan nodded. "But I only have the right to use this spacecraft, and I can't take it beyond human territory. It's still nowhere near as satisfying as ruling an empire like you, Brother Thunderlight!"

"Brother Qingshan, you think too highly of me!"

Thunderlight Ancestor once again raised his cup in invitation. "To my shame, after managing the Thunderlight Sea Starfield for countless years, the wealth I've accumulated isn't even enough to buy an ordinary F-class spacecraft, much less an F-class spacecraft crafted by a master under the Virtual Universe Company!"

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan could not help but shake his head inwardly.

Thunderlight Ancestor really knew how to cry poverty!

In truth, ordinary immortals generally did not possess much wealth, but that referred to immortals who had only recently broken through and lacked status or standing.

After all, every immortal possessed a lifespan that could be considered eternal. As long as they did not perish due to an accident, they would always be able to accumulate astonishing wealth over time.

What was more, Thunderlight Ancestor controlled an entire starfield. The speed at which he accumulated wealth was naturally far beyond what an ordinary immortal could compare with!

At that moment, Qing Lan, who stood behind Thunderlight Ancestor, felt endless emotion after seeing Lu Qingshan able to speak with her ancestor as an equal.

Four million years ago, she had just broken through to become a world master and was in the prime of her life. By then, Lu Qingshan had long since gained the acknowledgment of the lightning origin laws and was already highly renowned throughout the Thunderlight Sea Starfield.

When Lu Qingshan had pursued her back then, she had actually thought he was quite good. But he already had several wives and quite a few children, so she had ultimately rejected him.

Yet at this very moment, she truly felt a trace of melancholy and loss.

As the world master most valued by the ancestor among the Thunderlight Sea Royal Clan of this era, what Qing Lan wanted most was to follow the example of the family's other two elders: gain as much of her ancestor's favor as possible, obtain a quota to enter the Initial Universe for enlightenment with his help, and then use that opportunity to break through and become immortal!

If I had agreed to Lu Qingshan back then, the ancestor would probably value me more now, wouldn't he? Qing Lan could not help thinking.

Just then, Thunderlight Ancestor raised his cup again. "Brother Qingshan, now that you've joined the Virtual Universe Company's transportation department, I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to remain with your family for long periods in the future. How do you plan to arrange your family?"

In truth, asking about Lu Qingshan's arrangements for his family was Thunderlight Ancestor's true purpose in coming to see him.

Over the past several million years, the Lu Family's influence had been expanding at a rapid pace. The number of world masters alone had already become comparable to that of the royal clan.

But previously, Lu Qingshan had merely been a world master, so Thunderlight Ancestor had naturally not taken him seriously.

The so-called third strongest expert in the Thunderlight Sea Starfield was nothing more than a joke in Thunderlight Ancestor's eyes. Perhaps after he took a nap, Lu Qingshan would already have fallen by the time he woke up!

But things were different now!

Lu Qingshan had now broken through to become an immortal god. Although he was still no match for a veteran immortal god like Thunderlight Ancestor for the time being, they were undoubtedly now beings on the same level.

Under Lu Qingshan's leadership, the entire Lu Family had become capable of threatening the whole Thunderlight Sea Royal Clan.

Although Yan Feng Universe Country's laws meant that Lu Qingshan could not contend with him for control over the entire Thunderlight Sea Starfield, the Lu Family's growing status within the Thunderlight Sea Starfield was bound to affect the royal clan's position there. This would also affect Thunderlight Ancestor's wealth and income over the endless years to come, so he naturally could not sit still.

"Brother Thunderlight, rest assured!"

Lu Qingshan naturally understood the meaning behind Thunderlight Ancestor's words. But his previous recruitment of disciples and expansion of his influence had merely been to accumulate the wealth needed to enter the Initial Universe.

If he had not joined the Myriad Heavens Chat Group and could only have been an ordinary immortal, he might truly have continued gradually developing and expanding his family's influence. But now that he had joined the Myriad Heavens Chat Group, and his strength could continue to increase without end, there was naturally no need to fight over such petty gains in the Thunderlight Sea Starfield.

After all, in the eyes of true experts, a mere Thunderlight Sea Starfield was simply not worth mentioning!

Moreover, humanity currently had only 1,003 universe countries. Even the Ganwu Universe Country, where Luo Feng would be in the original story, had yet to appear!

If he wished to expand his family's influence, then when the Ganwu Universe Country was established in the future, he only needed to lead his family there to naturally occupy a vast territory!

Thus, Lu Qingshan stated firmly, "I truly have no intention of leading my family into conflict with the Thunderlight Sea Royal Clan, so you may rest assured, Brother Thunderlight!"

"Hahaha..."

Hearing Lu Qingshan's words, Thunderlight Ancestor immediately laughed. "Brother Qingshan, that wasn't what I meant!"

"By the way, Brother Qingshan, I came this time not only to congratulate you on becoming immortal, but also to prepare a gift for you!"

As he spoke, Thunderlight Ancestor waved his hand, and a triangular crystal radiating an unusual purple glow appeared in his palm.

Using immortal divine power to deliver the triangular crystal before Lu Qingshan, Thunderlight Ancestor introduced it with a smile. "This Thunder Origin Purple Crystal was something I obtained by chance while traveling through the universe. It can be used to forge lightning-attribute divine weapons, so today I am giving it to you, Brother Qingshan!"

In Thunderlight Ancestor's view, if he wanted Lu Qingshan to relinquish the benefits of the Thunderlight Sea Starfield, he naturally had to pay some price.

He was naturally reluctant to grant a large amount of territory, so after thinking it over, the only option was to present a valuable gift.

That would both demonstrate his sincerity and prevent the Lu Family from using the opportunity to grow too powerful within the Thunderlight Sea Starfield.

"This..."

Looking at the Thunder Origin Purple Crystal before him, Lu Qingshan was slightly surprised.

A piece of Thunder Origin Purple Crystal like this would require three thousand points even if he wanted to exchange for it from the Virtual Universe Company's treasury. If it were placed at auction, it would probably sell for more than three thousand chaos elements.

Such a resource was fairly precious even to Thunderlight Ancestor, who controlled an entire starfield.

With that in mind, Lu Qingshan could not help waving his hand in refusal. "Brother Thunderlight, this is far too precious. I accept your goodwill, but I cannot accept this gift!"

"Brother Qingshan, the two of us hit it off at first sight. What does a mere gift amount to?"

Thunderlight Ancestor feigned displeasure. "Could it be that you think my gift is too insignificant?"

After some back-and-forth refusals, Lu Qingshan finally accepted the Thunder Origin Purple Crystal from Thunderlight Ancestor. The two then chatted for a while longer before Thunderlight Ancestor rose to take his leave.

After Thunderlight Ancestor departed, Lu Qingshan quickly instructed Lu Hongwen to notify the family members under his command to avoid conflicts with the Thunderlight Sea Royal Clan whenever possible. He then returned to seclusion and cultivation.

Thanks to reader Dark Sword Jihun for the 100-point reward. I'm rather busy today, so the next chapter will be a little later.