They won the Holy Grail War, but this turned out to be the Virtual Tree Universe.

Chapter 68 The Behind-the-Scenes Money-Making Secrets (4000 words, please recommend and read further)
After Dan Lei cured Zhang Zhiwei, the attitude of everyone in Longhu Mountain towards him instantly changed 180 degrees.

After all, in the world of supernatural beings, might makes right. The people present weren't stupid. Although Li Tongchen lost to Zhang Zhiwei in a one-on-one fight, their logistical support capabilities were not on the same level.

Dan Lei is such a supermodel dad. When he teams up with Li Tongchen, the two of them can make Zhang Zhiwei, a top-tier dad, suffer a crushing defeat on the spot.

Therefore, Danlei is now a true VIP at Longhu Mountain and must be treated well.

Fortunately, Danlei wasn't the arrogant type. Since the other person treated him well, he wouldn't deliberately make things difficult for them, so the two of them quickly became happy together.

According to the original storyline, tonight should be Zhang Chulan's time to walk his bird under the moon.

However, after witnessing the battle between Zhang Zhiwei and Li Tongchen, apart from Feng Baobao, the others probably couldn't sleep, let alone have a bonfire party.

But fortunes change, and when the younger generation stops causing trouble, it's the older generation's turn to do it.

After the banquet, Dan Lei was invited to the backyard of the Celestial Master's Mansion, where Zhang Zhiwei wanted to have a talk with Dan Lei under the pretext of discussing Taoism.

Dan Lei knew exactly what Zhang Zhiwei wanted to do, so after sitting down, he casually ate nuts and drank tea while looking at Zhang Zhiwei and Lu Jin in the room, and went straight to the point.

"Master, I can roughly guess what you want to talk to me about. However, I don't intend to withdraw from the competition."

Upon hearing Dan Lei's words, Lu Jin was utterly speechless and said bluntly...

"Dan Lei, you've already cut off Lü Ci's arm. Your strength is no less than our older generation. Isn't it just bullying people to participate in the competition between the younger generation?"

Dan Lei thought Lu Jin's words made a lot of sense, but he didn't listen. Although Dan Lei was almost two hundred years old, no one could tell. Moreover, if you converted Chi Ming's age to the age of an ordinary person, he would only be an 18 or 9-year-old young man.

So, Dan Lei simply pretended to be stupid.

"It's not really bullying. Didn't you see that I only used the puppet in the previous competition? I didn't lift a finger myself."

"However, since you've spoken, Grandpa Lu, I'll compromise. This time at the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, I'll only use puppets. Whoever dismantles my puppets will win."

Dan Lei's words left Lu Jin speechless. That mecha, which was over thirty meters long after combining, was supposed to be dismantled by these juniors in a one-on-one fight? And that golden light cannon could destroy the arena with a single shot.

Fortunately, Zhang Zhiwei was able to see through Dan Lei's intentions. After taking a sip of tea, he said...

"Master Danlei, your goal should be the Heavenly Talisman, right?"

Dan Lei decisively continued to play dumb, deliberately asking in return...
"Why would the Celestial Master say such a thing?"

Zhang Zhiwei was not old-fashioned; he stroked his beard and smiled.
"If Master Danlei has come for the Heavenly Master's ordination and the position of Heavenly Master, this old Daoist is willing to immediately step down and yield the position to a worthy successor."

"The Luo Tian Grand Ceremony is just for your own enjoyment; there's really no need to discourage the younger generation."

Since Zhang Zhiwei had already put it this way, Dan Lei had no choice but to admit it.
"Haha, the old Celestial Master is right. My purpose in participating in the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony is naturally to obtain the Tongtian Talisman."

Seeing that Dan Lei had admitted his purpose, Zhang Zhiwei and Lu Jin exchanged a glance. The latter shook his head helplessly, took out a book from his pocket, and said...

"In that case, I'll just give you the Tongtian Talisman directly, so you can stop bullying people."

After saying that, Lu Jin tossed the Tongtian Talisman to Dan Lei as if it were a rag.

Dan Lei, having gained an advantage, naturally accepted it without question, and without doubting the authenticity of the Tongtian Talisman, he put it away and laughed.

"Senior Lu is very generous. In that case, I will definitely study the Tongtian Lu all night tonight and I probably won't be able to get up tomorrow morning."

For Dan Lei, not participating in the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony doesn't really affect the puppet testing. After all, Dan Lei can't go all out on the field. The real test is for the Quanxing members who will attack the mountain later.

Seeing Dan Lei say this, Zhang Zhiwei breathed a sigh of relief, indicating that the stage he had built for Zhang Chulan seemed ready to continue. He then changed the subject, curiously asking...
“Master Danlei, this old Daoist has a question out of curiosity, but you don’t have to answer it.”

The old Taoist priest finds it strange. "You clearly possess an extremely powerful lineage, so why are you still so obsessed with the Eight Extraordinary Techniques?"

In response to this question, Dan Lei raised the Tongtian Talisman and said...

"Because I haven't found my own path yet, I think that the stones from other mountains can be used to polish jade. I want to collect as many skills as possible to improve myself."

Moreover, with your discerning eye, Master, you should be able to see that although each of the Eight Extraordinary Skills has its own problems, their underlying principles all originate from the Five Arts of Taoism: Mountain, Medicine, Destiny, Physiognomy, and Divination.

However, as the name suggests, the Eight Extraordinary Skills are skills, and they require a foundation. Each of them has its own problems. The so-called techniques that bring chaos can be summarized in one sentence: a technique without a foundation will inevitably bring disaster.

However, I feel I have a solid foundation and don't need to worry about any backlash.

Seeing that Dan Lei was very clear about the Eight Extraordinary Techniques, Zhang Zhiwei didn't dwell on the matter and instead changed the subject.

"I see. No wonder you even wanted the Lu family's Ruyi Jin."

Seeing that the topic had already been brought up this point, Dan Lei went along with it and said...

"Actually, it's not just the Ruyi Jin. Old Celestial Master, Senior Lu, I also want to trade martial arts techniques with you."

Normally, in the martial arts world, even if stealing someone else's martial arts techniques doesn't necessarily lead to a life-or-death struggle, the person whose techniques were stolen will definitely be enraged and retaliate against the thief.

However, Dan Lei's previous lawless attitude, coupled with his lawless strength, had already made Zhang Zhiwei and Lu Jin a little uneasy.

So neither Zhang Zhiwei nor Lu Jin were angry. Lu Jin even asked curiously...

"Oh? A trading technique, Dan Lei, what are you planning to use to trade? The Spirit Binding and Commanding Technique that you dug out of Wang Ai's brain?"

However, Dan Lei shook his head and said bluntly.

"What I want to trade with you two is the Heavenly Master's Mansion's cultivation manual on sexuality, as well as your Reverse Life Triple Technique, Master Lu, and Wang Ai's extremely problematic Spirit Binding and Commanding. In my opinion, this is not a fair deal."

The bargaining chip I offered was a formation, a spirit-gathering formation.

Upon hearing Dan Lei mention the Spirit Gathering Array, Zhang Zhiwei and Lu Jin's pupils dilated in shock. Zhang Zhiwei even confirmed it with some disbelief.
"A Spirit Gathering Array? A legendary ancient array that can gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in one place to accelerate cultivation?"

The spirit-gathering array that Zhang Zhiwei mentioned was not the same thing that Dan Lei was going to give him.

Dan Lei only intended to provide the magician's ley line absorption array.

This thing is far inferior to the spirit-gathering array in Taoist legends.

After all, once the Spirit Gathering Array gathers the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it will turn the place where the array is located into a blessed land.

The Earth Vein Extraction Array simply and crudely sucks up the Earth Vein Energy. If there is no energy extraction device in the array, the forcibly extracted Earth Vein Energy will only cause abnormalities in the surrounding area.

So, Dan Lei shook his head slightly and said, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "To be precise, it's a modern, repaired version of the Spirit Gathering Array."

This formation can still absorb spiritual energy from the veins and gather it into the formation, but not everyone who sits in the formation to cultivate will benefit from it.

Those within the formation must possess a certain level of Qi cultivation to absorb the power of the spiritual veins; if their cultivation is too weak, it will do more harm than good.

After saying that, Danlei used a substitution magic trick to summon mercury and set up a simple array in the room for the two of them to see.

Because Longhu Mountain is a place of outstanding people and abundant resources, even the simplest earth vein absorption array can be effective, so the "spiritual energy of heaven and earth" (magic concentration) in the room quickly increased dramatically.

Zhang Zhiwei and Lu Jin could naturally sense the changes in the room, so they got up and began to study the array on the ground that was flashing with a faint blue light.

Dan Lei wasn't afraid that the two of them would directly study the meridian absorption array, because this thing was quite different from Taoist arrays.

As expected, Zhang Zhiwei, who had experience abroad, quickly made a judgment and asked Dan Lei.

"Was this formation repaired using Western magic?"

Dan Lei did not deny it, and readily admitted it.
"Yes, when I got it, it was already the Western magic version. It's most likely a version that was circulated in China and then modified."

However, its main function remains unchanged, and it can indeed gather spiritual energy to increase the cultivation speed of those with supernatural abilities.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhiwei sighed deeply and shook his head.
"What a pity, what a pity! We, the descendants of Taoism, are unfilial. Such a treasure has to be passed down by foreigners, and they've even modified it in strange ways."

"Danlei, I agree to your conditions. I will provide you with all the cultivation manuals related to sexuality from the Celestial Master's Mansion."

Zhang Zhiwei's words confirmed the effectiveness of the formation, so Lu Jin naturally followed suit.

It should be understood that compared to a single cultivation technique, the Spirit Gathering Array brings benefits to the entire family. As the head of the Lu family, he has no reason not to change it, both morally and logically.

However, Lu Jin still kindly reminded him...

"Dan Lei, I've changed mine too, but let me make this clear from the start: my Reverse Life Triple Technique is not easy to learn, it's extremely difficult to get started, and I don't accept returns."

Dan Lei dismissed Lu Jin's warning, saying it was too difficult to learn. If he couldn't learn it with his current innate Dao Body level talent, then Lu Jin would have no chance of learning it either.

However, despite thinking this in his heart, Danlei humbly said that he knew, and then began to seriously teach the two how to draw the complete version of the ley line absorption array.

Zhang Zhiwei and Lu Jin were both exceptionally talented; they learned how to set up the formation in just half an night.

Therefore, Danlei was able to return to his residence in the middle of the night.

However, upon returning to his residence, Dan Lei declared that he would likely not be able to sleep that night, as Feng Zhenghao's family was anxiously waiting for him in the yard.

During the day, Feng Zhenghao missed all the major events in the back mountain because he was watching the later matches at the Luotian Grand Ceremony.

When Feng Zhenghao found out what had happened, he was filled with deep regret.

Especially after hearing that Dan Lei had cut off Lü Ci's arm, and that Li Tongchen had crippled Wang Ai and almost defeated Zhang Zhiwei later.

Feng Zhenghao said that Danlei is a treasure, the kind that can bring wealth and safety even if you just keep him at home. He said that he must follow him closely from now on, even if it means being like a little brother.

However, in Dan Lei's view, Feng Zhenghao's biggest goal was to obtain the complete Spirit Binding and Commanding system.

So Dan Lei didn't waste any more time talking to him and went straight to the deal. He directly retrieved the Feng family's Spirit Binding and Commanding technique from Feng Xing Tong's memories and then handed over the version of Spirit Binding and Commanding Technique from Wang Ai's mind to Feng Zheng Hao.

Feng Zhenghao was a ruthless and ambitious man. He didn't care about his son's memories being searched, so he immediately agreed.

Feng Xingtong knew her father's temper, so she didn't struggle and allowed Dan Lei to complete the memory search very smoothly.

After the transaction was completed, Feng Zhenghao wanted to continue to build rapport, but Dan Lei chased him away because he didn't want to spend the whole night messing around with the three members of the Feng family.

However, after Feng Zhenghao left, Dan Lei didn't really rest. He didn't need to fight tomorrow, no matter who he was facing, so he could just focus on cultivation.

However, instead of studying the Tongtian Talisman and the complete version of the Spirit Control Manual that he had just acquired, Dan Lei first began to study a scripture that Zhang Zhiwei had given him, the Qingxin Sutra.

According to Zhang Zhiwei, the cultivation manuals of sexuality in the Celestial Master's Mansion cannot be summarized in just one or two books. He will arrange for his disciples to deliver all the books to Dan Lei's residence.

Danlei can copy the relevant scriptures and take them with him, but the original books must remain at Longhu Mountain.

As for the Pure Heart Sutra, it is an introductory book and was given to Dan Lei as a personal gift. Dan Lei can take it with him.

Dan Lei actually knew that the Taoist cultivation of both body and mind in Under One Person was no less precious than the Eight Extraordinary Techniques in some aspects.

In particular, the cultivation of sexuality is something that the Collapsed Iron Universe lacks.

In the Collapse Iron Universe, apart from those spiritual beings who actively cultivate their spirit, other races basically rely on cultivating their physical bodies while simultaneously nurturing their spirit.

Of course, to harness the power of destiny, one's spirit cannot be too weak, so powerful destiny travelers are actually passively cultivating their spirit.

This is also why Kafka's mind control is less effective against powerful Fate Walkers.

However, being passive is still being passive, and the results are definitely not as good as actively cultivating.

Danlei has a destiny of memories, but in order to make full use of the power of his memories, he finds that he doesn't even know how to use them most effectively.

Therefore, Dan Lei packed up all the cultivation manuals related to sexuality from the Celestial Master's Mansion this time in order to improve his spiritual cultivation, so that he wouldn't be at a loss for countermeasures if he encountered Huan Long or her spiritual attacks in the future.

However, spiritual cultivation differs from physical cultivation in that it has no reference point.

When you cultivate your physical body, the absorption of magical energy and the circulation of it are all traceable.

As for spiritual cultivation, after Dan Lei recited the Heart-Clearing Sutra a few times, he did feel that his mind was calmer, and then nothing more.

However, Danlei was quite patient. After calming down, he began to repeatedly "chew" over the scriptures in his mind, hoping to make some new discoveries.

Then, when he came to his senses again, Danlei suddenly realized that it was already daylight outside, and he felt particularly clear-headed.

Amazed by the wonders of Taoist practices and having tasted the benefits, Dan Lei prepared to ask the Old Celestial Master for a few more books. However, as he stepped out of the room, he saw Feng Xingtong waiting at the door.

Feng Xingtong visibly relaxed upon seeing Dan Lei, then exclaimed loudly...
"Heavens! Danlei, you're finally out! How could you suddenly go into seclusion and stay in your room for over a day? You've already lost the Luo Tian Grand Tournament because you weren't there. That Zhang Chulan really got off easy!"

(End of this chapter)