He looks at the immortal-grade camera and mic in his hand with a confused, hesitant look. As for the 5 million low-grade spirit stone, it was a pretty penny but not enough to catch his attention.
The camera and mic were round, resembling beads the size of a walnut.
Along the edge were engravings so intricate and small that they almost seemed to move and shift under his gaze, as if alive with some kind of hidden energy.
He could feel a faint hum emanating from the beads. The strange formations formed by the runes seemed to be imbued with a kind of power that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but he knew instinctively that they were not of this world.
'I have heard of immortal-grade weapons and tools, they should…be the same right?'
[ Don't worry host, items given by the system are guaranteed to be top-notch quality!]
If it is truly the same immortal grade, then he can't wait to test it out.
Just like that, Ma Liang and Zhang Tuo saw Yu Yan take out two strange beads, looked at them for a moment, then put them away. They can only attribute that item to the legendary ability from 'storage rings' of ancient relics.
Of course, they didn't know that he had no storage ring, he only had a miniature world within his soul, which he use as a portable storage.
After putting the beads away, he looks satisfied.
For as long as he has lived and experienced the world, he had never heard of such tools being 'immortal-grade'. Let alone Immortal-grade, even Heaven-grade tools are treasures soul formation experts die for!
At this moment, he focus his attention on the system's mission.
From the system, he grasped the idea of a Bili account and the basic concept behind streaming. It's one of various forms of entertainment that mortals use to keep themselves occupied in their free time.
Although it sounds strange, the idea of streaming isn't too bad either.
This is because the reward promised by the system was too enticing!
Surely, a reward from an entity as powerful as the system must be good right?
The camera and mic were already out of his expectation. Even though they were useless technology of the modern days, it was still immortal-grade artifact. From that alone, it was worth using as a research reference in the future.
Of course, he didn't forget to focus on investigating the cause behind the change in the world and the disappearance of his divine sense. It took him over a thousand year to recover a bit of his power, if there were another power capable of threatening, then he must tread forward with caution.
With all that in mind, he let out a devious grin.
'Why do I feel like the world is going to collapse in a few days?' Simultaneously, Ma Liang and Zhang Tuo look at each other, unable to form a sentence.
Regardless, they couldn't do much but bitterly go along, hoping to live a little longer.
"Take this as a form of payment, consider it as a welcome-back gift from me, I am not a stingy person." He raises his right hand, point his index finger toward them, then a beam of soft light appeared from the tip of the finger.
It quickly traveled to the two standing outside the door, covering their body in an array of yellow-dusking colors, causing their face to turn red to the extreme like boiled shrimp!
"Whether you can break through… you can only rely on yourself." He looks at the both of them, then sighed.
For cultivators opening their apertures, what he gave them was already a fortune.
Even if these two failed to break through, they were guaranteed to face no bottlenecks all the way to the 3rd stage.
As for the 4th stage and above, he can't be certain as it has been a long time. Since he followed a different path of cultivation, their constitution was different, even if it is possible to remove that bottleneck, he wouldn't be as generous in giving them this favor.
"Thank you senior!" They both bow their head and shout with a look of excitement and veneration.
People say to earn the heart of loved ones, give them food and satiate their hunger. For cultivators, give them benefits and anything goes.
With that, he did not continue explaining. His figure swayed slightly and he disappeared without a trace.
…
At the same time Yu Yan left, there is a distant island not drawn on any map on earth.
The mist was thick, and from the outside view, it was impossible to discern the shape or even outline of the island.
All that can be seen are countless tall black peaks projecting into the fog like a giant mountain casting its shadow on the land beneath.
This is the Thousand Bamboo Island of the Song Family, an ancient cultivation family that isolated itself for thousands of years.
In a small hut, an old man and young lady leisurely exchanged words.
"Uncle Jia, did you see the newest stream on Bili? Have you played the game League of Immortal? They are currently hosting an international tournament!"
He shook his head, then rubbed his temple in helplessness and said," Little Yin, Isn't your account still at Iron 3? Even if I give you another decade, I doubt you can make it past Iron 1!"
Song Yin stomps her feet and pouts mischievously. "W-What do you know, I heard you're too scared to play ranked!"
"I bet you have never seen a rank in your life!"
"Child is that how you speak to your elder, you're not young anymore!" Uncle Jia begrudgingly swung the petite bamboo stick in his hand, landing on Song Yin's lustrous forehead.
Twat!
For Song Yin, a 2nd stage Foundations cultivator, such strikes can not even come close to her, let alone give her a scratch!
But who was Uncle Jia? A prestigious Earth Immortal!
His strike, simplistic in appearance, contains a wisp of true qi.
Even if she wanted to dodge, she wouldn't dare to!
"Ow!"
It landed cleanly on her forehead, facing no resistance whatsoever as it made a thonk sound.
She lifted her soft hands, covered the center of her forehead, then looked at uncle Jia as she adorably sniffled in pain.
At that moment, he let out a satisfied grin and lowered the bamboo stick, then took a light sip out of a cup of warm tea on the table.
You can only praise uncle Jia for his great control over his strength!
"I-I knew it! The rumors are true, how can you be so pretentious if you're not even ranked…" After eating a blow, she didn't dare to talk loudly and instead, muttered.
"Who said I can't play rank? Tell me their name, I'll have a talk with them." He snorts.
"I'll let you know that I've reached the ranks of diamonds yesterday!"
Bang!
This news struck her even harder than the physical blow just now!
She doesn't believe it!
Uncle Jia reached into his thick robbed, after rummaging around for a bit, he pulled out his hand.
On it was the newest generation of Phones!
"Hmph! What is so great about being a diamond player…" She muttered, before changing the subject. "Uncle Jia, have you heard anything about the recent disturbances in the cultivation world?"
Uncle Jia's expression became more serious. "Yes, I have. It seems that there has been an increase in demonic activity lately, and many sects are struggling to keep them at bay."
Song Yin nodded, her worry for her father momentarily forgotten as she focused on the larger picture. "Do you think it's related to the disappearance of some of the more powerful cultivators?"
"It's possible," Uncle Jia said, his tone grave. "There have been rumors of a powerful new enemy that has emerged, one that even the great clans and sects are struggling to contain."
As they continued to talk, the sun began to set and the moon rose in the sky. The mist that usually shrouded the island was absent tonight, giving them a clear view of the distant mountain where Song Yin's father was in seclusion.
"Are you worried about your father?" Uncle Jia asked, his voice gentle.
Song Yin nodded, her expression pensive.
"Don't worry too much," Uncle Jia said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "He will recover from his injuries. But..." He hesitated, as if unsure whether to continue.
"But what?" Song Yin asked, sensing his hesitation.
Uncle Jia sighed. "Your father's injuries are quite severe. He can only recover if he breaks through past the heaven-immortal realm!"
Song Yin's eyes widened in shock. "But... that's impossible! Isn't that the realm mentioned in the ancient record? No one has ever broken through to that level!"
"That's right," Uncle Jia said, his expression regretful.
As they stood there in silence, looking up at the clear night sky, the weight of the cultivation world's troubles seemed to press down on them like a heavy burden.