Even a Goblin Could Figure It Out...

Haotian stared at the extensive price list, overwhelmed by the sheer number of domain principles available. There were thousands, ranging from top-tier domains like Creation, Fate, and Time, to more common ones like Flame, Frost, and Earth. The list also included non-elemental domains such as Force, Speed, and Gravity. Essentially, there was a domain for everything imaginable.

Some domains were downright bizarre. Haotian spotted peculiar entries like the Clone Domain, Enlargement Domain, Shrinking Domain, and even a Beauty Domain. 

The Clone Domain allowed its master to create numerous duplicates of themselves within the domain's boundary, with the number of clones increasing with the domain's level. The Beauty Domain was particularly strange; once activated, it transformed the domain's master into an unparalleled beauty. Regardless of different species or aesthetic preferences, everyone would perceive the domain master as a supreme beauty. In essence, even pigs would find the master stunningly beautiful. This made the Beauty Domain similar to the Charm Domain, though the latter targeted the mind and soul, whereas the Beauty Domain struck directly at the heart, making "victims" more susceptible.

The variety of domain principles astounded Haotian but also made him feel a sense of dread. The **Lord System** wasn't exaggerating—these domain principles were absurdly expensive. Among the thousands listed, the cheapest cost one million gold coins, while the most expensive reached a staggering ten million. The priciest, the **Creation Domain**, allowed its master to create anything within their domain, as long as it matched their power. This information came from the **Lord System**'s annotations.

Below the Creation Domain were other top-tier domains like Fate, Causality, Time, and Space, each priced at five million gold coins. It was an exorbitant amount. Haotian wondered how many bottles of elven spring water he'd need to sell to afford just one.

"Intermediate elven spring water isn't enough," Haotian mused. "Even if I sell twenty thousand bottles, it would only cover one top-tier domain and one or two common domains. I need higher-purity elven spring water!"

He decided to upgrade the **Spring of the Elves** to produce high-grade water. Selling one bottle of high-grade elven spring water could fetch the price of several intermediate ones. Haotian then asked the **Lord System**, "How many different domain principles can a person master at most?"

The **Lord System** replied: **Ordinary saint-level individuals can master one or two domains. Talented ones might master multiple. As for the lord, as long as you have gold coins, there's no limit.**

"Won't there be conflicts between different attributes?"

**With me here, the possibility of attribute conflicts will not exist.**

Haotian immediately praised the system, "You're incredible." He then asked, "If I buy domain principles now, will I have to pay again for the same principles when I advance to demigod and want to purchase law principles?"

**No. When the lord buys law principles, the cost of the previously purchased domain principles will be deducted. For example, if the Time Domain costs five million gold coins and the Time Law principle costs fifty million, purchasing the Time Law principle after having the Time Domain will only cost forty-five million gold coins.**

"That settles it then!" Haotian concluded his discussion with the **Lord System**. His current challenge was clear: making money!

---

Hundreds of kilometers away, in the mayor's villa of Forest City, three elegant figures sat in a blooming garden gazebo. Two of them were the sisters, Ayla and Amy, while the third was the city's mayor. She, too, was a wood elf, wearing a suit of silver-white light armor. Her silky, pale golden hair cascaded down to her waist, and her exquisite features and translucent skin glowed with ethereal beauty. Her pointed elven ears peeked through her hair, adding to her magical allure.

"The Ancient War Tree..." the elven mayor whispered, her voice trembling slightly. "This must be reported to Her Majesty, the Great Elven Queen, immediately!"

Ayla responded, "I plan to visit the Golden Oasis the day after tomorrow to investigate, then report to Her Majesty."

The elven mayor questioned, "Why wait until the day after tomorrow? With the strength of the three of us and our unicorn companions, we can handle the four undead dragons guarding the Golden Oasis!"

Ayla shook her head. "I think it's best not to provoke conflict with the Golden Oasis. We don't know enough about them. For a human lord to possess the Ancient War Tree and command the loyalty of ancient treants and even Eternal Treant Guardians... Even a goblin could figure out that his background is extraordinary."

The elven mayor was silent. Amy quickly interjected, "Mayor, please don't misunderstand. My sister wasn't calling you a goblin."

The elven mayor's expression turned to one of confusion. "????"

Ayla quickly added, "I was just making an analogy."

The elven mayor took a deep breath. She was about done with this conversation. Changing the subject, she retrieved a bottle of **Elven Spring Water** from her spatial equipment. "This is intermediate elven spring water from the Crystal Merchant Guild. I've had it tested by an alchemist."

"It's genuine elven spring water, but it's different from ours."

"How so?" Ayla and Amy asked in unison.

"The life water of our wood elf race is prepared from the sap of the Elf Mother Tree. Even when diluted into elven spring water, it retains a faint scent of grass and wood," explained the mayor. "The spring water sold by the Crystal Merchant Guild lacks this aroma."

Ayla was shocked. "Are you suggesting that the Golden Oasis has developed an alternative method for producing life water?"

"It's possible," the mayor nodded.

"Incredible!" Ayla exclaimed, taking a deep breath. "The Holy Light Church has been trying for centuries to produce life water without success, yet an unknown human lord has achieved it?"

After a brief pause, Ayla added, "I'm starting to believe that this human lord has received divine favor from the Elven Goddess. How else can we explain this?"

The elven mayor replied, "Regardless, we must visit the Golden Oasis the day after tomorrow. We need to report our findings to Her Majesty and ask if she will deploy an army to the Karar Desert to quell the rapidly rising undead plague."

"Has it become that serious?" the sisters asked in astonishment.

"It might be worse than I imagined," the mayor said. "Recently, a group of unidentified individuals has been buying up all the elven spring water in the city. I also found out that someone traded a batch of elven spring water from the Crystal Merchant Guild using dragon corpses through the Bounty Hunter Guild. If the forces behind this are related to the undead plague, we must consider why they are stockpiling so much elven spring water."

Ayla and Amy exchanged a glance before blurting out, "Liches!"