In Liu Sandao's illusion, it was a hazy expanse, devoid of any ripples. He wasn't as flustered as Mei Ziqi and the others because he was an Immortal Venerable, his Dao heart unwavering.
Illusions were merely delusions within the mortal mind. For immortals, they were already severed.
Fu Ruhai's illusion, however, was one of peace and prosperity in the human world, perhaps due to his responsibilities.
Naturally, these wouldn't trap the two of them.
They soon arrived in the center of the office.
Everything here was familiar to both of them.
Yet, standing before the crystal ball once more, Liu Sandao noticed that the seats where he and Fu Ruhai were sitting appeared on the crystal ball. He immediately understood that every move he and Fu Ruhai made was under surveillance by Na Qianlai.
"This damnable Na Qianlai, he truly is despicable in his actions!"
Fu Ruhai grumbled.
Liu Sandao didn't respond; this was standard procedure.
He walked around the crystal ball again, sensing that it wasn't the same crystal ball that had been in his office.
Its position hadn't changed, nor had its size. It was just the color of the sphere that seemed different.
"Do you think this crystal ball is different?"
Liu Sandao asked Fu Ruhai.
Fu Ruhai then looked closely at the crystal ball but found nothing unusual.
"It doesn't seem to have changed, what's wrong?"
"No, I distinctly remember the crystal ball we placed wasn't like this!"
"Hahaha, I think your eyesight is failing. Is it because of the lighting at night?" Fu Ruhai said with a laugh.
The lights on the top floor were always on, never extinguished.
This was designed because it was the top floor of the Yaotian Building, illuminating the entire Sandong City.
Heaven had no distinction between night and day, hence the constant illumination.
Fu Ruhai's words reminded Liu Sandao.
He quickly turned off the light switch in the room where the crystal ball was located.
As soon as the lights went out, the crystal ball immediately emitted a green glow, casting a verdant hue over the entire office.
It was like a giant luminous pearl, but this luminous pearl had a heart. The heart was about the size of a fist.
This caught Liu Sandao by surprise, especially since he had personally installed the crystal ball.
When had it been tampered with?
Of course, this was likely Na Qianlai's doing. After all, only he would stoop to secretly monitoring others.
Recalling the purpose of their visit: to find the Ancestor's Spiritual Root.
The two of them began searching every corner of the office, hoping to find it. However, after a long search, they found nothing.
Liu Sandao completed his search and returned to the vicinity of the crystal ball. A thought suddenly struck him: could the fist-sized object in the center of the crystal ball be connected to other places?
With that thought, his body suddenly transported to another location.
Liu Sandao materialized. The office was empty. The place was somewhat familiar: a separate suite, with several meticulously arranged antique items on a spacious desk.
Liu Sandao had been to this place before. Although only once, the impression was deep.
This was Zhao Qiansun's office. In front of the desk stood a set of mahogany furniture surrounding an exquisite Chinese-style tea table. In front of the tea table was a pedestal for a crystal ball.
The crystal ball setup here was similar to his own office, only one-third the size.
From that crystal ball, one could observe every move in the top-floor office of the Yaotian Building.
This discovery was quite chilling.
Liu Sandao flickered back to the Yaotian Building.
It was not advisable to linger too long in Zhao Qiansun's office, as it could lead to trouble.
If Zhao Qiansun was monitoring Na Qianlai, did he and Fu Ruhai still need to report? It seemed the path back to the top floor would not be as simple as imagined.
"Where did you go just now?" Fu Ruhai asked.
Fu Ruhai knew Liu Sandao had undoubtedly used his magic to go elsewhere when he disappeared for a moment.
Such secret arts were the capital of an Immortal Venerable.
Although he envied it, he didn't necessarily expect to learn it.
"Nowhere in particular, how about you? Did you find anything?"
Liu Sandao replied, deliberately changing the subject. He wasn't sure whether to tell Fu Ruhai about the surveillance.
If Zhao Qiansun could monitor Na Qianlai, then he could naturally monitor Liu Sandao and Fu Ruhai as well.
In other words, anything that happened in the Yaotian Building could potentially be known by Zhao Qiansun.
As Zhao Qiansun's former subordinate, the fact that Zhao Qiansun had never mentioned reappointing Fu Ruhai as chairman of Ying Ba Fang was likely not a simple matter.
However, their inexplicable demotion was also truly bizarre. Even more bizarre was Na Qianlai, who had no prior connection, managing to leapfrog to become the chairman of Ying Ba Fang.
The God of Death controlling the distribution of fortune fruits was simply ludicrous.
These issues were now a tangled mess. He had originally intended to simply distribute a few fortune fruits but had unexpectedly become entangled in some conspiracy.
"No, I feel like Na Qianlai wouldn't leave it here! If it were me, I'd carry it with me! Just like our Fortune Handbook!"
Fu Ruhai's words made sense. Liu Sandao didn't respond, waving his hand to signal Fu Ruhai to leave the office together.
Regarding the surveillance, Liu Sandao believed Na Qianlai was certainly unaware.
Otherwise, Fang Huairan's act of taking fortune fruits wouldn't have happened in the Yaotian Building.
To obtain fortune fruits without using the Fortune Handbook or the fortune fruit system was tantamount to openly violating heavenly rules and would certainly be severely punished. This was because distributing fortune fruits through the Fortune Handbook had been practiced for centuries or even longer; the fortune fruit system was a new initiative, approved by Heaven, and absolutely could not be so easily abandoned.
The affairs of Heaven were indeed extremely complex.
For Liu Sandao, it was now impossible for him and Fu Ruhai to remain detached. But how to maximize their safety, they could only wait and see.
...
Two or three days passed quickly.
Fang Huairan had returned to her rented room. Mei Ziqi had even gone to see her. He had expected to see Zhao Xiaoying, but she wasn't there.
He had already decided to obtain the fortune fruit, and Na Qianlai had notified him to go tonight.
"How do you plan to raise the money?"
Fang Huairan asked. She knew Mei Ziqi's financial situation; even selling everything he owned wouldn't amount to that much money.
"Me? Hehe, you don't need to worry, I have my ways."
Mei Ziqi evaded the question, but Fang Huairan persisted, saying,
"What ways could you possibly have? Even selling a kidney wouldn't be enough."
This was indeed the truth, and he didn't want to say more. But if he couldn't get past Fang Huairan, how could he get past Zhao Xiaoying?
When it came to women, if you wanted to win them over, you had to win over the women around them first.
Mei Ziqi hesitated for a moment before revealing his plan.