Chapter 885: Paying Money Like Crazy

The entire Imperial Parliament was completely stunned.

The Divine-Demonic Alchemist’s cosmic mall, established with the goal of hunting down the "Pillar Gods of Tathagata," would descend simultaneously whenever a Pillar God of Tathagata invaded. Its purpose was to help the indigenous civilizations in the local universe resist these forbidden entities.

However, the cosmic technological civilization behind the creation of this "mall" was terrifyingly powerful. Judging by the diverse cultivation methods offered, it was clearly not a single super civilization, but rather multiple super civilizations uniting to form a cosmic alliance to resist the "Pillar Gods of Tathagata."

This was a first-level war-preparedness trading market, where higher-tier enlightened civilizations provided war-preparedness support to lower-tier civilizations.

Emperor Teal took a deep breath, his face solemn, and thought to himself, "This is both a crisis and an opportunity! If we can resist the Pillar Gods of Tathagata, then our civilization can gain substantial benefits from this mall, and our race will usher in a new era of prosperity..." After all, he was a resourceful and ambitious overlord of his generation.

"So, can you only cultivate yourself?" Emperor Teal asked.

"Yes," the deity replied.

A hint of regret flashed across Teal's face; he had already known it would be this way. Such a super civilization would not have loopholes. "Then, to save resources, we will directly break through to become deities. After all, we don't rely on individual combat..."

After all, the expenditure caused him immense heartache. Creating one deity cost energy equivalent to that of thirty regular deities. And each cultivation method and bloodline separately cost thirty deity-equivalents of energy... this new deity had consumed ninety deity-equivalents of energy. This was comparable to thousands of years of tax revenue accumulated by an extremely prosperous central planet. The empire's tens of thousands of years of strategic energy reserves were rapidly depleting. The spatial railguns, in particular, suffered severe wear and tear, and resources were now extremely scarce.

"Clearly, these formidable top-tier cultivation methods are meant for transcendent deities..." Emperor Teal closed his eyes. "Those detestable fellows must have realized it by now..."

At that moment, the adjacent staff headquarters provided a list of scientists ready to break through to deity status.

"It's urgent, then. Let three top scientists break through to deity status first," Emperor Teal said. He checked the mall, preparing to lead the entire empire in further extensive spending, but then received bad news: Deity purchase on cooldown.

"What, there's a purchase limit?" Emperor Teal frowned slightly, carefully observing the text below. "You can also pre-order by paying a 40% deposit in advance?"

"Hurry and pre-order, don't let those Byrd Cat-tailed Bugs next door get ahead of us!" His expression turned cold. "Also, six hours have passed; we don't know how the virus has developed. Since this is the situation now..."

"Have our top scientists directly enter high-dimensional spacetime, burning their lifespans to begin research ahead of schedule," he ordered sternly. "Our civilization's technological explosion is about to begin!" In the past, allowing the empire's national treasures—its talents—to enter high-dimensional spacetime would have been tantamount to suicide! But now it was different. They were about to break through to become deities, which would extend their lifespans. Entering high-dimensional spacetime now would gain them a vast amount of time.

"The empire is entering a period of rapid explosion," he said sternly. "We are racing against the Great Zhou Virus that has besieged us. Who will live and who will die remains unknown!"

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Inside the eyeball, Little Meng was dumbfounded. "These 'pay-to-win' sows, we still underestimated them..."

"Our resources can't keep up; we've had to implement purchase limits." They had painstakingly hunted countless large octopuses to gather enough "primal essence" for one deification, essentially stockpiling goods before reopening, but everything sold out in an instant. Now, they needed the primal essence energy for a second deity. Naturally, there was none. Although they had obtained a vast sea of energy, the Alchemist Emperor's conversion process also required time. They were already working overtime. After all, six hours, which equated to 25 years of frantic species reproduction, might not be enough to meet the demand. This was because many other citizens and lower-tier beings were also purchasing items in the system mall. Although they were only Tier 1 or 2, the accumulated consumption of primal essence was comparable to the amount needed for a deity.

The entire planet had descended into madness. Countless individuals were spending furiously. In high-dimensional spacetime, where one day was equivalent to a hundred years, they were barely able to meet the demands of these low-dimensional beings. It was truly terrifying!

"They're truly insane... As expected, these seemingly backward rural civilizations have deep reserves and plenty of local specialties stored away," a player remarked seriously.

"These country bumpkins are making a fuss over nothing. It's just becoming a god, isn't it?" The Great Octopus also said earnestly, patting the astonished Brain Worm Deity next to him.

The Brain Worm Deity choked, utterly shaken by the scene before him. He muttered blankly: "So that's it. The Pillar God of Tathagata civilization has descended upon this land... That's why this higher-tier enlightened civilization has come to this remote, impoverished place, setting up a mall here to help the local civilization resist!"

"A fierce competition, a great war among countless enlightened civilizations!" He took a deep breath. He had always been incredibly suspicious, but at this moment, he had no choice but to believe. "It's as if I'm witnessing the vast war at the true center of the universe!"

It truly was the center of the universe. On the internet, a massive discussion had erupted. Screenshots appeared, and the images within moved everyone, leaving them wide-eyed and speechless.

"So it really wasn't about tricking people internally into spending, but rather targeting this civilization!"

"Exactly. These low-tier civilizations, which haven't even had contact with Creation Gods, have backward cultivation methods, systems, bloodlines, and civilizational knowledge. Naturally, they're overjoyed!"

"Spend, spend, spend!"

"Wait, are these guys dogs? One cultivation method costs the price of thirty giant deities? Even if we bought the entire Earth, we couldn't afford this method, could we?"

"So, I really am an average keyboard saint; I can already buy an entire Earth!"

"I am the richest person in the universe."

Countless people muttered, lamenting the terrifying prices in the universe. Of course, some were also deeply distressed. "It's utterly shameless! They're even selling fake and inferior products, not providing authentic bloodlines, but giving alchemical bloodline plug-ins and defective goods!"

In reality, they had never imagined that someone could be so unscrupulous. The exorbitant price of the cultivation methods was one thing. But the bloodlines were also defective...!! The most crucial point was that the entire spending power of an individual who broke through to become an eighth-tier deity, including the individual themselves, became the property of the other party! They were giving themselves over, principal and interest.

Akina Mountain Speed: "Cough, cough. You beasts, you really prepared thoroughly. You even took my alchemical bloodline organs before leaving, and they've certainly come in handy... An organ I produced can sell for hundreds of years of tax revenue from a developed planet, almost enough to buy an Earth! Shouldn't you give me a cut?"

He felt his race still had infinite potential. Truly a 'pay-to-win' factory, returning to its former glory.

Little Meng: "Cough, cough. This is the price we earned ourselves. Why should we share it with you?"

Akina Mountain Speed spat out a mouthful of old blood: "..."

He felt terrible. These scoundrels abandoned him, leaving him to be tormented by Emperor Qi. They happily went on a cosmic vacation, making quick money, but didn't take him along?

"Cough, cough." Little Meng, of course, wasn't so heartless. After all, they would need to cooperate in the future, and the mall still had to source goods from him. "We naturally can't share this with you right now. We're just starting up, and cash flow is tight. Plus, there are many of us who need a share: the Alchemist Emperor, Armin, Caroline, and a bunch of players. Everyone needs a cut, and Caroline wants the lion's share! Look, how about this: next time we come back, we'll ask for your orders, and then we'll share the profits with you. That's when you'll officially be a partner."

Akina Mountain Speed's face darkened. He knew better than anyone how unscrupulous these people were. By then, there probably wouldn't be a shred left of this indigenous supernatural world. What use would it be to invite him to join then?

Little Meng continued, "Right now, our plan is based on Caroline... Naturally, we need to share profits, and we're currently betting big on Caroline." After all, the Ishuldar's pride meant they wouldn't betray their own, and they were at least trustworthy. If it were the Three Pillar Gods or Emperor Qi, things might go downhill.

What was the situation now? They were helping Caroline rise. In the future, after enticing hundreds or even thousands of giant deities to become part of her race and enter her spiritual universe, and then breaking through to true Ninth-Tier, wouldn't that be incredible? She would instantly become a top, invincible combatant among complete Ninth-Tiers. Even Reinimansga might be beaten senseless! Then, when the tables turned, dealing with Emperor Qi and the Three Pillar Gods would be a matter of minutes.