Lu Yan was quite satisfied with Li Hao's voluntary display of loyalty, but he showed no expression on the surface.
At this moment, his identity is that of a powerful being from the last Spiritual Energy Revival era, a ghost deity from the Underworld—why would he be interested in the allegiance of a mere mortal?
Upon hearing Li Hao's words, Lu Yan merely let out a cold laugh:
"Share my burdens? A mere mortal dares to speak of sharing my burdens?"
"With the Spiritual Energy Revival myth returning, my master commands the forces of all realms, aiming to ascend to the supreme position—can you share the burden of this for me?"
As his words descended, a murderous aura enveloped the temporary camp, causing Li Hao's eyes to widen and his body to tremble. He was encountering Spiritual Qi for the first time and had no understanding of what the supreme position meant, feeling utterly incapable of responding.
"There is a great threat in the West, an entity known as the Deity is creating a world, seeking to exhaust millions of souls to ascend to the highest—can you burden?"
The sound of metal clashing echoed in his ears, and that murderous aura almost became tangible. Everyone in the camp submitted to the primal fear deep within their souls, kneeling to the ground, and Li Hao's very soul trembled at this moment.
The Deity is the creator god in Western mythology—how could he ever make contact?
Amidst the fear, Li Hao also realized that the identity of this person before him was far more terrifying than he had imagined.
With his spirit shaking, Li Hao gritted his teeth and spoke:
"I am weak, unable to share the burden of such great matters for you.
But I, Li Hao, believe I have some influence among mortals. As long as it concerns mortal affairs, no matter what command you give, I will exert all my efforts, swearing to serve you to the death!"
As these words were spoken, the icy murderous aura in the camp suddenly stagnated.
Lu Yan seemed to have remembered something, casting a deep look at Li Hao kneeling on the ground, and said indifferently:
"A thousand years ago, I had a dog in the mortal world. Now with a thousand years gone by, that dog is probably long dead."
Li Hao's spirit surged, and he quickly said:
"I am willing to be your humble dog!"
"You?" Lu Yan slightly narrowed his eyes, letting out a chuckle as the murderous aura instantly disappeared:
"When I mentioned a dog, I meant a genuine dog, not a humble servant."
Li Hao showed a flattering expression, speaking respectfully:
"Others still lack a way to become your humble servant; it's my honor to become your loyal dog!"
Lu Yan's lips curled into an undisguised smile.
"Your shamelessness indeed resembles that of a dog."
"Thank you for the praise!"
By now, Lu Yan had already understood that Li Hao had preliminarily submitted to his identity.
Of course, Lu Yan knew that such submission had no restrictions; today Li Hao could become his loyal dog, and tomorrow he could switch allegiance.
What Lu Yan sought was not unwavering loyalty.
With the characteristics of the Unchanging, he transcended many versions.
In the urban version, he could easily intimidate Li Hao by posing as an Underworld ghost deity, making him a humble servant.
Yet in the xianxia version, Li Hao united eleven cultivation families to establish Wushan Marketplace, and his status surpassed Lu Yan, an outer disciple of Taiyi Sect, by several tiers, with Li Hao having the upper hand in strength.
In an even higher-level version, the power gap between Lu Yan and Li Hao would be even larger.
Amid numerous version changes, even the most loyal subordinate cannot be trusted.
Hence, Lu Yan never expected Li Hao to be unwaveringly loyal; he only needed to use absolute intimidation and substantial benefits in the urban version to make him submit.
In subsequent version changes, he would switch identities, leveraging the intimidation and benefits left behind to gain advantages from Li Hao.
Upon sensing changes in Li Hao's loyalty, he would then seek a lower-level version to reinforce intimidation. The rıghtful source is 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍
The most crucial point in the entire process was to ensure Li Hao didn't discern his true nature, nor should the distance between Li Hao and himself be shortened.
Only with enough mystery and overwhelming power could this intimidation be maintained.
As thoughts flowed in his mind, Lu Yan said indifferently:
"However, I do have a minor task assigned by my master here. If you can accomplish it, giving you some benefits is not out of the question."
Li Hao's expression shook with joy, and he quickly responded:
"Please instruct me, I will exert all my efforts."
Lu Yan was about to speak, but at this moment his gaze halted, looking towards the entrance of Beimang Mountain scenic area.
He revealed a mocking smile:
"Good dog, you should first address the current dilemma!"
Following Lu Yan's hint, as Li Hao hurriedly left the temporary camp, he discovered that the soldiers originally stationed at the scenic area had all surrendered without firing a shot.
A young man with an extraordinary demeanor strode towards the temporary camp, followed by representatives from various forces.
Li Hao's sharp gaze scanned the forces surrounding the young man.
Qingwu Group, Celestial Fortune Group, Archaeological Association... and the Luocheng City Council.
Li Hao stared intently at the laid-back young man, who was none other than Xu Shaolin, a councilman of the Luocheng City Council.
Without the guidance of the peach pit clues, the attention of various forces would focus on the battlefield traces; logically, it would take at least several days to locate this place.
But now, less than a day has passed, and they found the Beimang Forbidden Land; at this moment, Li Hao couldn't help but understand that Xu Shaolin had betrayed him, allowing various forces to arrive early.
At this moment, Xu Shaolin followed beside the crowd, unfazed by Li Hao's glaring gaze, showing a cold smile.
Previously, during the discussion about the peach pit matter in Luocheng, Li Hao intended to use him to establish authority, asserting dominance in the Spiritual Qi project.
If all went smoothly, once Li Hao secured success, he would surely unite with other council members to exclude him from the interest group.
Previously, to prevent Li Hao from dominating, other council members wouldn't agree.
But this matter involved Spiritual Qi resources—everyone coveted a share of the benefits. Once Li Hao proposed, not only would other council members not oppose, but they would actively support.
Instead of waiting to be ousted, Xu Shaolin opted to bring this valuable information to the federal-appointed commissioner and pledge allegiance in advance.
With this in mind, Xu Shaolin feigned anger at Li Hao, loudly speaking:
"Li Hao! You disregard the federal ban, rashly exploring Beimang Mountain—this is clearly challenging federal authority!"
Everyone present understood that after the Night Parade of Hundred Demons' appearance of Spiritual Qi, the so-called federal ban was merely a piece of paper.
Isn't the federal commissioner's quick arrival at Beimang Mountain just to seek profits from future explorations?
But even so, this "paper" was still optimal for suppressing Li Hao.
Even the federal commissioner, Shi Zhiyuan, appropriately revealed an imposing expression, solemnly questioning:
"Li Hao, do you realize your crime?"