Chapter 114. Returning to the Capital of Divine Favor...
A day later, Lin Xiaoxiao returned to Zuocheng and stood in the shower area of the bathroom, her hands on the wall, her head tilted back, letting the warm water flow down from the showerhead above her head, washing away her fatigue and grime.
The stinging sensation from the warm water as it touched her scabbed wounds made her frown.
Ten minutes later, Lin Xiaoxiao, wearing a white knee-length bathrobe, dried her hair with a towel, pushed open the bathroom door, and walked out, bringing with her warm steam.
Ina slumped lazily on the small sofa in the room, her fingers, painted with red nail polish, tossing a tuft of long hair around incessantly, her gaze scanning Lin Xiaoxiao up and down as she went to the bar to fetch water.
Then he whistled lightly at Lin Xiaoxiao: "Wow--a feast for the eyes. Since you don't have a partner right now, why don't we just make do? I'm sure I'm more considerate than those stinky men."
Lin Xiaoxiao casually placed the towel she was using to dry her hair on the table next to her, took a bottle of water from the small refrigerator next door, unscrewed it, and swallowed it in small sips.
She didn't take Ina's reckless words to heart at all.
Just as she was drinking water, a faint golden light emanated from her body.
The wounds on my body that were originally deep enough to expose the bone and had already scabbed over trembled slightly, quickly scabbed over and healed, then the scabs fell off, and I returned to a state where I was not injured.
These wounds were inflicted on the return journey, near the city of Mona, when I was ambushed by over a hundred Chosen Ones, and thus had no time to heal.
When Ina received the news that Lin Xiaoxiao had returned covered in injuries, she immediately stopped her cultivation and came to find her.
They were afraid that just as the cooperation was about to be finalized, Lin Xiaoxiao would be killed by the group from the City of Divine Favor.
Lin Xiaoxiao put down the bottle and asked in a low voice, "How's the investigation I asked you to do going?"
Ina rolled her eyes at her, annoyed: "I found out. Your little lover is said to have returned to China under his father's arrangement, and he's perfectly safe now."
Lin Xiaoxiao nodded: "Mm."
Then he walked to the sofa opposite Ina and sat down. In front of Ina, he took out the maintenance box from his space, removed his right leg and casually threw it in, then threw in a bunch of energy stones and life water.
As she sank into the soft sofa, her body instinctively relaxed, and she sighed softly to herself, realizing how comfortable city life was.
During this period, Lin Xiaoxiao had been wandering in the deeply polluted area, spending her days either avoiding pollutants or wild gods.
Not to mention food and lodging, even the maintenance of the right leg prosthesis was something I had to do in my spare time, risking my life.
Ina rested her hand on her cheek, her gaze towards Lin Xiaoxiao carrying a seductive allure: "What are the arrangements for the rest of the time?"
Lin Xiaoxiao let the water droplets from her wet hair drip onto her shoulders and the leather sofa, her fingers rhythmically tapping the sofa armrest: "Back in the City of Divine Favor, when will you be able to level up for the agent banquet?"
When the topic of leveling up came up, Ina gave her a charmingly disdainful look: "I'm advancing to demigod level, not some level below the ninth rank. You can't just level up by dealing with corrupted entities. You need to comprehend things, okay?"
They're not ordinary professionals; they can't just upgrade whenever they want.
Lin Xiaoxiao chuckled and glanced at Ina: "I will open the Infinite Treasure Vault once at the banquet."
The implication is that if you don't come, you'll miss this opportunity.
Upon hearing this, Ina subconsciously shifted her crooked posture, composed herself, and asked seriously, "When does the banquet begin?"
If it were anything else, Ina could say she didn't care.
However, if Lin Xiaoxiao wants to open the Infinite Treasure Vault, she will have to go back to attend this banquet even if she hasn't advanced to the level of a demigod.
Rumor has it that the treasure chest merchants of the past had made deals with the gods, and that the infinite treasure trove contains the method to become a god, as well as many treasures, items, and resources that even demigods desire.
Lin Xiaoxiao replied gently, "It is expected to be in 10 days. I plan to use your passage back to the City of Divine Favor."
Normally, any organization or family with some influence here would build a space passage that allows free movement. The requirement to return by defeating polluted beasts for points is only for ordinary professionals.
For agents like them, as long as they have coordinates, they can tear through space and return using the power of faith within them.
But if there's an easier way, why waste the power of faith?
Ina nodded: "Okay, the passage is in my room. When do you plan to go back?"
Just then, a beep sounded, indicating that the prosthetic limb maintenance was complete. Lin Xiaoxiao bent down to put on the prosthetic limb and replied with a light laugh, "Now."
Ina raised an eyebrow in surprise: "Don't you want to rest a bit before going back?"
Could the information I saw before be false? What happened to the claim that she was delicate? This workaholic doesn't show any signs of being delicate at all.
Lin Xiaoxiao put the skincare box back into her spatial storage, turned around and walked towards the bathroom to change her clothes: "No, I have something to take care of over there."
An hour later, Lin Xiaoxiao returned to the City of Divine Favor through the array in Ina's room, which was decorated in pink and adorned with many feather ornaments.
As soon as people were teleported to the City of Divine Favor, they were attacked by thousands of skills from all angles.
The moment the first fireball, about 50 centimeters in size, touched Lin Xiaoxiao's body, the hidden protective mechanism was activated, and a spherical shield appeared out of thin air, blocking all the attacks.
Lin Xiaoxiao's gaze swept over the hundreds of people floating in mid-air. Her body was unusually relaxed as she looked at the stowaways, some of whom were clearly shrouded in black mist, blending in among them without any surprise.
She reached out with her right hand and a lightsaber formed from the power of faith appeared in her hand. Her voice was calm as she chuckled, "This welcoming ceremony is a bit crude. I don't like it."
The leader was a man who was 2 meters tall with the darkest bronze skin. He was very muscular, and his exposed right arm was covered with many black lines.
These lines run from the arms upwards, down to the neck, and across the entire chin, making the face appear exceptionally clean, as if the person is wearing a special sweater.
These markings only appear on those born from divine favor due to corruption, clearly indicating that this man has repeatedly violated the rules of divine favor by killing people.
The man floated in mid-air, raised the giant hammer in his hand, pointed it at Lin Xiaoxiao, and apologized in a very polite voice: "I'm sorry, many people can't sleep well if you don't die. We will try to be gentle. Please leave this world peacefully."
Just as he was about to utter some nonsense, everyone swarmed around Lin Xiaoxiao.
She moved nimbly, dodging and looking for an opportunity to counterattack. In her heart, she thought to herself, "Shouldn't everyone stop and watch when the cannon fodder and villains in novels are spouting trashy threats?"
Why does it become that when it comes to her, there's a silly guy standing there pretending to be something, while the others are attacking her without any sense of decency?
She nimbly bent down, dodging a lightning strike, and with a flash of light, her lightsaber severed the neck of a divinely favored person who was trying to get close and deliver a dagger to her back.
The next second, a figure fell from mid-air.
[Agent of Lady Luck: Lin Xiaoxiao...]
'kang.ci——' The weapons clashed together, sparks flying from the friction.
Lin Xiaoxiao raised her lightsaber to block a spear that was trying to stab her neck.
Then, with a flick of her wrist, she blocked the spiked club coming from her right. Her constantly activated perception skill alerted her that several skills were flying in from behind.
With a slight twist of her wrist, she skillfully spun the short, smelly stowaway in front of her, using his body to block the fireballs, ice hammers, lightning strikes, and wind blades.
First, an explosion rang out, and Lin Xiaoxiao used the light sword to strike hard, sending the person flying several meters away.
Immediately afterwards, the stowaway fell to the ground, cut into pieces like a loaf of bread.
[Agent of Lady Luck: Lin Xiaoxiao...]
Then, Lin Xiaoxiao seized the opportunity and threw out dozens of experience coins in succession. When the explosion rang out, those people took cover and quietly hid in the smoke. With each attack, a figure would fall down.
In just seven or eight minutes, more than half of the enemies surrounding her were gone.
The man leading the attack, wielding a giant hammer, swung it rapidly and roared, "Attack with all your might! If we don't use our killing moves soon, we're all going to die here!"
Upon hearing this, the remaining enemies immediately stopped thinking about preserving their strength. No matter how generous the rewards or how precious the tokens were, they were all meaningless if they lost their lives.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of colorful arrays appeared, surrounding Lin Xiaoxiao in the center.
She concentrated her energy in her left hand, and the pale golden light gradually deepened. Suddenly, a peculiar spatial fluctuation appeared around her.
Lin Xiaoxiao's lips curled slightly as she withdrew the energy in her hand, turning her killing move into a defensive one.
Now that reinforcements have arrived, let them handle it; it'll save her some faith power.
After those skills unleashed a towering explosion, engulfing Lin Xiaoxiao.
Countless spatial blades appeared out of thin air, and all the enemies present lost their lives at the same time, falling to the ground like dumplings being dropped into a pot, with severed limbs, weapons, and items.
Amidst the massive explosion and flames, a 2-meter-tall black figure carrying a person burst forth from the flames.
Lin Xiaoxiao sat on the black cat's back and chuckled, "Brother Cat, it's been a long time."
The black cat twitched its ears, creating a 3-meter-wide spatial rift, and prepared to leave with her.
Unexpectedly, Lin Xiaoxiao grabbed his ear, pointed down and said, "I have to go collect some loot, and then I'll go back."
The black cat paused in its sprint to enter the spatial rift, its eyes widening in astonishment as it turned back, as if to say, "You still want this paltry sum? Are you desperate for money?"
Lin Xiaoxiao coughed lightly twice, gently tugged at the black cat's fur, and said with a bright smile, "Don't do that. Even a little bit is a gain. Anyway, we're not in a hurry, so let's just take what we can."
If she doesn't prepare more things now, she's afraid she'll be back to being penniless after the banquet.
Back in the Black Abyss, whenever time allowed, she would clean everything she could, determined not to waste a single thing.
The black cat sighed deeply, closed the spatial rift, and carried Lin Xiaoxiao down to the forest below, occasionally flying close to the ground in accordance with her commands.
Congratulations on obtaining: 200,000 (Advanced) Faith Power
Congratulations on obtaining: Broken Space Bead (Silver Grade)
Congratulations on obtaining: Broken Broom (Epic)
...
After the harvest was complete, the black cat carried Lin Xiaoxiao directly through the spatial rift and landed on the manor.
The manor had undergone a complete transformation. Flowers of all colors were carefully tended and bloomed freely, and tiny specks of light floated in the air, shimmering in the sunlight.
A faint rainbow stretched from the very edge of the floating island to the other side, looking exceptionally dreamy and beautiful.
In the courtyard, Kagome sat in a specially made, wheel-less, automatically floating silver-white metal wheelchair, quickly flipping through a stack of paper reports. Standing in front of her was Sototu, who had grown taller and heavier, and was trying to appear serious.
Lin Xiaoxiao rolled off the black cat and greeted it with a light laugh: "Busy?"
Kagome didn't even look up, continuing to quickly flip through the documents in her hand: "Hmm."
Sotutu stood opposite Ge Wei, about 2 meters away, with a very straight posture. His eyes were secretly observing Lin Xiaoxiao, his dark pupils shining as if he were looking at an idol he admired.
When Lin Xiaoxiao looked over, she would subtly look away, pretending to be serious and focused.
Lin Xiaoxiao stood to the side, her arms crossed in front of her, watching with great interest the little girl, Sotutu, who had always been with Ge Wei.
The girl's aura was no longer as chaotic as it had been when they first met; most of it had been sorted out, and a small portion had been successfully absorbed into her body.
I believe that given a little more time, Sotutu will be able to completely retract the exposed aura into his body.
Just as Sotutu blushed and shyly lowered her head under Lin Xiaoxiao's gaze, Ge Wei handed the documents back to her: "Okay, let's arrange it this way."
What Kagome was looking at was the banquet arrangements, scene setup, and invitation list for Lin Xiaoxiao's agent ten days later.
Suo Tutu took the documents, held them in his arms, and bowed to Lin Xiaoxiao in a flustered manner, greeting her in a whisper, "Ms. Lin, it's been a long time. I... I have to go now. It's a pleasure to see you again, and I look forward to meeting you again."
Lin Xiaoxiao responded with a warm smile: "Long time no see, TuTu."
Upon hearing this address, Suotutu's skin instantly broke out in goosebumps, and her entire body turned bright red, like a boiled shrimp, staring blankly at Lin Xiaoxiao.
After Sotutu left, Kagome took out a crystal ball containing the power of faith from her spatial storage, manipulated the energy to hold it, and presented it to Lin Xiaoxiao: "This is for you."
Lin Xiaoxiao took the crystal ball, raising an eyebrow in surprise: "You've struck it rich? Weren't you planning to break through to quasi-god level after the banquet?"
Congratulations on obtaining: 3 billion (Advanced) Faith Power
Kagome's expression remained calm, and her tone was very composed: "You didn't get rich, but everyone pooled their faith power for you. Try to reach level nine before the banquet."
"After the banquet, Xingyan and I will both be going into seclusion to break through to the Quasi-God level. During this time, you'll be the only one who can support us."
Lin Xiaoxiao put the water planet in her hand into her space, her smile helpless: "It's quite difficult. There are still 10 days until the banquet. I'm still 22 levels away from reaching 599, the peak of the eighth level."
Even without a lack of faith power, reaching level 599 within ten days, plus completing the nine-turn upgrade quest, is extremely difficult.
Kagome placed her hands on her lap, her smile gentle: "I asked the agent of the God of Herbs to tailor a medicinal bath just for you."
A medicinal bath customized by the agent of the God of Herbs?
Lin Xiaoxiao's smile froze instantly. That cunning, squinty-eyed man had made a medicinal bath?
She gave an awkward, forced smile and declined, "Without the medicinal bath, I should be able to raise my level to the ninth rank before the banquet begins."
Gowei didn't say anything, she just quietly looked at Lin Xiaoxiao.
Three minutes later, Lin Xiaoxiao was the first to give in. Her shoulders slumped and her voice was dry: "I'll go make one now."
Just as she turned to walk towards the villa, Kagome suddenly spoke up: "Keep an eye on Hill."
Lin Xiaoxiao paused for a second, then continued walking towards the villa, her voice soft: "I understand."
Upon seeing Lin Xiaoxiao, Redtail's six tails burst open in joy, forming a beautiful big red flower.
Surprisingly, Xunbao didn't nibble on the nuts; instead, he took the initiative to get close to Lin Xiaoxiao and cuddle with her.
Monet, with his hands in his pockets, floated in mid-air, looking like a cool guy, and nodded at Lin Xiaoxiao;
Hill was no different from before, greeting Lin Xiaoxiao warmly: "You're back."
After playing with them for a while, Lin Xiaoxiao handed all the items and weapons in the space that needed repair to Hill, her eyes deep and discreet as she watched Hill's cheerful departure.
As the sun rose and set, time passed day by day, and eight days quickly went by.
In the manor villa, the bathroom door to the master bedroom was not closed tightly, and heavy breathing and occasional muffled groans could be heard coming from inside.
Lin Xiaoxiao was soaking in a pool of pinkish-purple medicinal bath. The medicinal water was sparkling with starlight, and with each movement, the ripples on the surface of the water would reflect a faint light under the lamp.
Her face was deathly pale, her hands gripping the edge of the bathtub tightly, the veins on her hands bulging, and she gritted her teeth, hissing, "Ugh, hiss!"
Soaking in these medicinal solutions, it felt as if my skin and flesh were being scraped by thousands of tiny knives, and my soul felt as if it were being pricked by long needles all the time.
Even though soaking in the bath could accelerate the process of refining faith power several times over, and could improve both her physique and soul to some extent, Lin Xiaoxiao would still avoid these medicinal baths if given the choice.
[Soaking in a (Legendary) Rejuvenating Bath for 1 hour grants: Constitution +1, Soul Strength +1]
[Level +1]
Two hours later, Lin Xiaoxiao's level reached 599, and she successfully obtained the Nine-Turn quest.
[Craft a God-tier treasure chest [0/1]]
The moment the Nine Turns Quest popped up, Lin Xiaoxiao immediately climbed out of the bathtub, trembling all over, put on a bathrobe, and sat on a chair to calm down for a while.
He opened his contact list and found someone he had met a long time ago: the Treasure Tree Spirit - Balu, and asked it to help him find a piece of quasi-god-level wood.
They paid an extremely high price to have Balu's elder cut a branch from the core area and send it over.
[Note: Treasure Tree Spirits generally live in large groups, and it is rare for one or two trees to live alone in one place. Even if they do, they will go to find their clan members after they reach a certain level and their main body can move.]
Then came contacting different people one by one to gather materials that were not readily available.
After a few hours, all the materials arrived, and Lin Xiaoxiao went alone to the workshop on the second basement floor to work on the treasure chest.
An hour passed, two hours passed, and in the third hour, a huge explosion rang out in the workshop: 'Bang—'
The staff inside the villa, who were busy decorating the banquet venue, were startled.
Meanwhile, in the workshop, Lin Xiaoxiao waved her hand to dispel the shield in front of her and smiled wryly: "A legendary-level treasure chest making technique is still too much of a stretch to make a quasi-god-level treasure chest."
Despite saying he was reluctant, his hands didn't stop for a moment. He immediately changed to a new workbench, put on new materials, and continued trying to make it.
After seven more explosions, on the ninth attempt, a near-god-level treasure chest was finally created.
The treasure chest has a basic shape, with a round top and a bottom, and it exudes a faint golden light. The four corner supports at the bottom are carved from gemstones with a sparkling effect, and the decorations are inlaid with black extraterrestrial stones... The overall look is understated yet noble.
Lin Xiaoxiao looked exhausted. She used the golden power to inject 100 million faith power into the treasure chest, forcibly upgrading it from a quasi-god level to a god level.
Complete these preliminary preparations.
She summoned the black cat, and the two of them quietly made their way down to the clock tower. At this moment, the countdown to the start of the banquet began: 6:23:12:23.
5 hours to go: Lin Xiaoxiao and Lao Ewen set up a barrier together and stood next to the [Faith Requiem Bell (God-level)] which was emitting a faint glow.
3 hours to go: Lin Xiaoxiao is still struggling to break through the protective barrier around the [Faith Requiem Bell (God-level)].
Countdown 2 hours: The barrier was dismantled by Lin Xiaoxiao, but the self-protection mechanism of the [Faith Requiem Bell (God-level)] created a 2-meter vacuum isolation zone, preventing her from directly touching the bell.
Only by touching the bell itself can one use the All Things Extraction Technique to obtain this Soul-Soothing Bell.
With his hands behind his back and the black cat perched on his shoulder, Lloyd said in a low voice, "The banquet will begin in two hours."
Lin Xiaoxiao, enduring the oppressive force within the vacuum zone, her expression contorted, accelerated the circulation of her body's energy, struggling to reach out through the remaining 20 centimeters of the bell body, her voice squeezed out from her throat: "I know, I'll do it right away!"
50 minutes to go: Lin Xiaoxiao is 5 centimeters away from the clock.
The parking lot on the floating island above was already filled with flying cars of various colors, and agents dressed in gorgeous gowns entered the banquet hall one after another.
These agents moved around the venue, greeting each other with great restraint.
Even if they secretly wished to kill each other, they all put on fake social smiles at the banquet, because they hadn't openly broken off relations yet.
Time flew by, and when the banquet was about to begin, Lin Xiaoxiao did not appear.
Many agents' faces darkened, and Kagome, Hoshino, Ina, and others also looked extremely grim.
A woman dressed in an extravagant light green dress waved her fan and said sarcastically, "What? The banquet is about to start, and the host isn't even showing up. Are you looking down on us?"
The atmosphere became tense for a moment, just as Kagome was about to sing to save the day.
'de.de.de.de……' The sound of high heels mixed with the sound of canes hitting the ground rang out.
Lin Xiaoxiao's hair was styled into a bun at the back of her head, her face was covered in exquisite makeup, and she wore a dark red off-the-shoulder dress with a voluminous skirt that was shorter in the front and longer in the back. She slowly walked down the stairs.
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