On Wei Chen's side, he was still within the primordial ruins, speaking with someone through the broadcast orb. The person he was talking to was a beautiful woman whose bangs covered her right eye.

"Thank you for your help, Ms. Youqi. If it weren't for you, that calculation session in the broadcast wouldn't have been so convincing," Wei Chen said with a smile.

He was terrible at math, so he had asked the Lord of Death for assistance. In response, the Lord of Death sent him a super helper.

Ms. Youqi was the Lord of Death's assistant, and as expected from someone serving such a powerful being, she was like a super assistant straight out of a domineering CEO novel, the kind who knows everything and is good at everything.

"It's my duty, Mr. Wei. There's no need to thank me," Youqi replied politely. Her office lady outfit fit her perfectly, and Wei Chen couldn't help but let his eyes wander to her bosom in silent appreciation.

"By the way, Mr. Wei," Youqi began.

This startled Wei Chen. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly averted his eyes.

"Yes, Ms. Youqi?" he asked, his voice a little nervous.

"Have you seen the Lord's plunger and paperweight?" Youqi asked.

"Plunger? Paperweight?" Wei Chen repeated, his mind wandering to the two items he had bought from the redeem shop.

"Yes. I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow those two items ended up in the redeem shop list. We're still investigating who placed them there. For now, our Lord hasn't used the toilet for a week, and his mood is… not ideal for communication."

Hearing her explanation, Wei Chen suddenly felt deep sympathy for the Lord of Death. He himself once held it in for two days, and his mood had been dark and swing like a roller coaster. He didn't even want to imagine how the Lord of Death could possibly endure it for an entire week.

"Yeah… I already redeemed them from the shop, Ms. Youqi. How can I return them?" Wei Chen asked. Though he felt a bit regretful about returning it back, compared to pissing off the Lord of Death, he would choose to return it any time.

"You already redeemed them?" Youqi was slightly startled. She hadn't expected anyone in their right mind to redeem a second-hand plunger.

But… who knew? Maybe this new colleague of hers simply had a very strange and niche hobby.

Still, she wouldn't judge…. after all, there were all kinds of fetishes in the world.

Seeing Youqi's beautiful eyes looking at him as if he were an exotic animal in a zoo, Wei Chen felt a bit uncomfortable.

"So... how can I return it?" he asked again.

This brought Youqi back from her thoughts. "Oh, just put it in the storage within the broadcasting orb, and I'll handle the rest."

"It's already in there," Wei Chen replied with a nod.

Youqi turned to her left, as if checking something on her side, then said, "Oh, thank you." She smiled softly. "Since you already redeemed it, we won't take it back directly. I'll just collect it, give it to the toilet cleaner, and then return it once we're done using it. Don't worry."

Why would I need to worry? It's just a damn plunger, Wei Chen retorted within his mind.

"Then, if there's nothing else, I'll excuse myself. Have a nice day," Youqi said before cutting the connection.

After the connection ended, Wei Chen decided to leave the secret realm.

It could be said that he was quite lucky this time. He had discovered a key to a desolate secret realm called The Chronicle Sanctuary Desolate Realm's Key.

The reason its price was listed as zero points was because the realm contained no resources at all, only ruins that recorded ancient history. The topic about the Heaven's Chosen was one of the subjects covered within these ruins.

There were many more records carved into the murals. What Wei Chen had explored was only one of 108 rooms filled with historical accounts.

Moreover, much of the information he shared, especially the factors related to the Heaven's Chosen came from Youqi and the Underworld Database. It should be quite accurate, considering that the Lord of Death seemed hell bent on reducing his own workload. He would naturally have figured out reasons why it never decreased.

Wei Chen left the secret realm. Outside, he stood in a clearing in the forest near the outskirts of Thousand Treasure City. The portal behind him closed and vanished, and an ancient key the size of a palm materialized in his hand.

This key opened The Chronicle Sanctuary Desolate Realm. It served as both door and key; only this artifact could allow others to enter the realm.

Wei Chen did not know exactly how the key worked. He only knew that it could open a portal to The Chronicle Sanctuary Desolate Realm from anywhere, as long as there was a free three-by-three meter space in front of the user. Otherwise, the key would not activate.

He went to the Thousand Treasure Pavilion and met Mo Xingyao.

…

In Mo Xingyao's study, Wei Chen placed the ancient key on her desk.

Mo Xingyao looked at the key with curiosity and picked it up for a closer look. The key was made from an unknown stone.

Despite her experience identifying many artifacts, she could not recognize the material. She only knew that it seemed stronger than the toughest stone she had ever seen.

She shifted her gaze from the key to Wei Chen and said, "When you said key, I thought you meant the method to enter the secret realm. I never expected it would be an actual key like this."

"I already erased my presence from the key. You can refine it and claim ownership. That way no one can steal it from you and only you can control the entrance," Wei Chen said.

Mo Xingyao nodded, but she did not immediately refine the key. She studied Wei Chen.

"You want to use this to pay for the thirty million spirit stones of damage?" she asked.

"Smart. I do not need a cent from it. All the revenue is yours," Wei Chen replied with a smile.

"A cent? What is that?" Mo Xingyao frowned in confusion.

"I mean… I do not need a single spirit stone from you," Wei Chen corrected himself.

"Oh! I understand…" Mo Xingyao said, then she pricked her finger and drop her blood and refined the key.

Because the ancient key had no imprint or owner, the refinement process took only a minute.

"I'll reduce ten million from your debt," Mo Xingyao said.

"Just ten million? Come on, you can do better," Wei Chen negotiated.

Mo Xingyao sneered. "If this Desolate Secret Realm had resources I would even pay you. But it does not. Aside from the face, I get nothing substantial. To me, face is the cheapest commodity."

"Wait… aren't you the type who thinks face is as important as life?" Wei Chen retorted.

"What do you mean by my type? My face is a commodity. If I can get enough benefit, I don't mind throwing my face around," Mo Xingyao smirked.

"So… you're saying you're shameless," Wei Chen nodded in understanding.

"Awwww, aw aw aw aw aw, stop! Stop biting! Are you a dog?"

After they fooled around for a bit, Mo Xingyao returned to the topic, while Wei Chen rubbed his face, which still had bite marks on it.

"Anyway, this thing is like a hot potato to me. It is true that this is the first primordial ruin discovered in the realm, but if it truly has no resources, it will not be worth our investment to protect it. Many righteous sects will surely try to claim it under the pretense that it belongs to the virtuous."

When mentioning the pretense, Mo Xingyao imitated the voice of an old, wise sage, mocking the righteous path stereotype.

She then continued, "Sigh~ Ten million is already generous. Dealing with those troublesome people requires resources, resources that this realm will not yield. Other than the face of being the first power to control a primordial ruin, I cannot think of any real benefit." She sighed again.

"I do not think face is the only thing you can get out of this," Wei Chen said.

Wei Chen's idea came from his knowledge about famous ruins such as the Acropolis and Pompeii. Those places drew a ton of tourists each year and brought a lot of revenue.

Even if The Chronicle Sanctuary Desolate Realm doesn't have any cultivation resources, it might contain secret records from the primordial era. After all, out of 108 rooms, he had only explored one that contained information about the Heaven's Chosen.

That meant the benefit was not in the material but in the knowledge that could be uncovered through research and archaeology. After proper study, the site might even be opened to the public to attract tourists.

But who could he blame? The culture of this world revolves entirely around cultivation, so it is normal that such things are not part of their common sense.

Hearing Wei Chen, Mo Xingyao smiled. "Oh? Tell me, what do you have in mind? Do you have any good ideas for me?"

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