***
Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers!
Fertilizer filled the sky, carried on fierce winds, and hemmed Daoist Master Songfeng in from every direction!
Plants absorbed nutrients through their roots. The reason Daoist Master Songfeng had been able to act so arrogantly was precisely because of his technique, “Spring’s Return to the Earth.”
But now—the technique had been broken!
Daoist Master Songfeng had already entered the inn, and the special insignia marking him as a star-rated guest was still hovering above his head. Wu Guanyue’s divine skill, [Quick Delivery], ensured that every handful of fertilizer landed on him with pinpoint accuracy!
Wenren Ying was no pushover either—
His blade flashed through the air!
[[Old Man Azurewood] was hit by [Wenren Ying]’s [Horizontal Slash]. HP -158!]
[[Old Man Azurewood] used [Spell: Spring’s Return to the Earth]. Critical failure!]
[[Old Man Azurewood] was hit by [Wenren Ying]’s [Horizontal Slash]. HP -298!]
[[Old Man Azurewood] used [Spell: Spring’s Return to the Earth]. Critical failure!]
[[Old Man Azurewood] was hit by [Wenren Ying]’s [Horizontal Slash]. HP -398!]
[[Old Man Azurewood] used [Spell: Spring’s Return to the Earth]. Critical failure!]
The blade in Wenren Ying’s hand seemed less like a weapon than the fang of some vicious beast. Other than killing his opponent, he had not a single thought in his mind!
When that savage blade flashed once more, Daoist Master Songfeng finally caught sight of the eyes hidden beneath Wenren Ying’s bamboo hat—
They were crimson as fresh blood and as merciless as a beast’s.
A terror that made his heart and gall split apart suddenly seized Daoist Master Songfeng. He could barely keep hold of his sword.
Life and death were decided in the space of a breath. How could one afford to be distracted in a duel?
“Ahhhhhhhhhh!”
Daoist Master Songfeng let out a scream that shook the heavens—
His entire body had been split in two by Wenren Ying. Then, before anyone could react, Wenren Ying plunged his blade into the man’s body and carved out the spiritual core from his spirit palace.
Daoist Master Songfeng struggled wildly!
But it was already over. So what if he had cultivated for a thousand years? Once his core had been cut out, he could not survive even another fifteen minutes!
“You… you’re… so… vicious…”
The light in Daoist Master Songfeng’s eyes faded completely.
The corner of Wenren Ying’s mouth twitched ever so slightly. There seemed to be a sharp, mocking edge to that smile.
Daoist Master Songfeng collapsed to the ground and breathed his last.
Wenren Ying flicked his blade. The beads of blood became crimson agates before sinking into the soil and vanishing.
The wind gradually died down.
Leaves rustled and fell, landing damply in the bloodstained earth.
Wenren Ying’s body suddenly swayed.
The supreme stimulation of the life-and-death battle was slowly ebbing away. The wounds left by the swords that had stabbed and twisted through him had torn his flesh open, sending blood streaming down his body. A web of agonizing pain ensnared him, making his chest heave and his breathing grow as harsh and heavy as a beast’s.
Supporting himself, he slowly made his way outward, taking one step after another.
A pair of soft, warm arms caught him.
Wenren Ying lowered his head and saw Wu Guanyue’s two tightly braided pigtails.
She must have run over at full speed—the two ponytails were still bouncing.
She tilted her head up, her eyes opened wide, looking as though she were facing a great enemy.
“Brother Wenren! You’ve only got a sliver of HP left!!!”
…Only a sliver of HP? Was she saying that he was badly injured?
What a strange way of putting it.
Wenren Ying could not help smiling. “I’m fine.”
When facing an enemy, he often displayed an icy hardness that made people’s hearts tremble with fear. But when he was not holding a blade, he was actually a man who smiled easily.
“I’ll help you!” Wu Guanyue said.
Wenren Ying looked down at her. “Then I’ll trouble you, Little Shopkeeper Wu.”
Wu Guanyue’s lips tightened into a serious line, and she nodded solemnly.
She slowly led Wenren Ying away from the area where she had—er, scattered flowers like a heavenly maiden. Following the sound of running water, they reached a clear stream and found a large tree sturdy enough to lean against. She helped Wenren Ying sit down beneath it to rest.
Wenren Ying closed his eyes. His lips were pale, and he looked as though he no longer had the strength to lift even a finger.
His voice was somewhat hoarse. “Little Shopkeeper Wu, please fetch me a Rejuvenation Powder. It’s inside my lapel.”
Wu Guanyue did not reach for his lapel.
Instead, she slipped a hand into her sleeve and rummaged around with a rustle. From her inventory, she pulled out a [Jade Lychee] and held it to Wenren Ying’s lips.
Items in the game were divided into five grades: white, green, blue, purple, and orange. The five colors corresponded to the descriptions ordinary, excellent, rare, treasured, and peerless.
[Rejuvenation Powder] was the most common kind of hemostatic medicine, a white-grade ordinary item.
The [Jade Lychee], meanwhile, was a blue-grade rare item. Its healing effect was much stronger and should have been enough to restore him to full health!
Yet Wenren Ying said, “Keep it for yourself.”
Wu Guanyue: “?”
Wu Guanyue stared at him in confusion.
Wenren Ying smiled. “My spirit palace is damaged. This thing is too potent for me. I can’t handle such a powerful supplement.”
The dantian, or spirit palace, was where cultivators circulated and stored the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth. Within the spirit palace, that spiritual energy was refined to purity and then drawn upon whenever needed.
But Wenren Ying was different. His spirit palace was completely incapable of storing spiritual energy…
The [Jade Lychee] was a powerful tonic to others, but to him, it was arsenic capable of making his body explode from within.
Wu Guanyue fell into deep thought…
Oh, she understood now. Wenren Ying had no mana bar.
When other cultivators were injured, they could spend mana to restore their HP. But he could not. He could only wait for his health bar to recover naturally.
…Wasn’t that a little too tragic?
Wu Guanyue crouched beside Wenren Ying with a tense expression and stared at him.
Wuyun poked its head out from nearby and let out a series of heartbroken meows.
Wenren Ying smiled. “You don’t need to look at me like that. I helped you simply because I wanted to. And I killed Old Man Azurewood because I had an urge to kill. The way I ended up like this was also my own doing…”
His voice gradually dropped away, while his painful breathing grew heavier.
Wu Guanyue: “Mm…”
Wu Guanyue stared at him, sinking into thought.
Wenren Ying couldn’t heal himself, but could someone else heal him?
Hmm…
Did players have any healing skills?
…Apparently not.
But now that she thought about it, hadn’t he just said something important?
“Too weak to handle a powerful tonic”… Hmm, too weak to handle a powerful tonic.
In other words, he couldn’t consume the [Jade Lychee] because its item grade was too high?
Then what about lower-grade items? Could he use those?
After all, he could drink the soda she had made from green-grade [Living Pine Needles]!
Concerned about her teammate, Wu Guanyue immediately opened her backpack and checked the items she had.
Hmm… Whether it was [Fire Jujube] or [Jade Nectar Vine], they were all blue-grade items. It was also her own fault for being too picky—she had always ignored anything too ordinary…
There was, however, one thing that possessed an excellent green quality rating. Hmm... Whether it worked or not, it was worth a try!
With an expression full of concern, Wu Guanyue pulled [Square-Shaped Excrement] ×1 from her sleeve and held it out in front of Wenren Ying.
“Brother Wenren, can eating poop restore your HP?”
Wenren Ying: “…………”
Wenren Ying: “………………”
A large, cross-shaped vein bulged on Wenren Ying’s forehead.
***
【Quest · Side Quest: The Missing Shop Assistant (Completed!)】
【Quest Rating: ★★★☆☆】
【Quest Details: From Old Man Azurewood, you learned that Wang Er had already died... Perhaps you could have done better, but in the end, this was not your fault. You had done everything you could for Wang Er.】
【Quest Rewards: [Rare · Green-Tide Sword] ×1, [Rare · Pinewind Sword Technique] ×1, [Rare · Spring Rejuvenation] ×1, [Collector’s · Huiming Mirror] ×1, [Collector’s · Seven-Treasure Pine Inner Core] ×1】
In short, the game’s very first side quest was complete!
Although the quest’s overall rating was only three stars because Wang Er had already died, the rewards were still quite generous!
Not only did they include three blue-quality items, but there were even two purple-quality items!
【[Collector’s · Huiming Mirror]: You obtained this item from Old Man Azurewood’s cave dwelling. Three lines of tiny characters are engraved on the back of the mirror: The first reveals true forms, the second locks onto souls, and the third illuminates cause and effect.】
【[Collector’s · Seven-Treasure Pine Inner Core]: The inner core left behind by Daoist Master Songfeng after his death. It looks like a seed... Perhaps you could try planting it?】
Since the description said it could be planted... then why not give it a try?
Wu Guanyue planted the seed in the backyard of her own inn.
As for the [Huiming Mirror], it sounded like some sort of demon-revealing mirror.
Thinking of the three question marks after Wuyun’s species classification, Wu Guanyue suddenly grabbed Wuyun, who had been curled up asleep on top of her quilt.
Wuyun: “Mii... mii...”
Wuyun let out a faint, feeble cry.
【Wuyun: A creature that does not know what it is, and therefore frequently makes suspicious noises.】
【[Wu Guanyue] used [Huiming Mirror] on [Wuyun]. Identification: Great Success!】
【Name: Wuyun】
【Species: Mirage Beast】
【Level: LV.1】
【Description: A young mirage beast that somehow ended up here...】
【Mirage Beast: Capable of creating incredibly realistic illusions and luring unsuspecting cultivators who wander inside to exhaust all their spiritual energy... Their cultivation increases by feeding on this energy. A rather wicked and exceedingly rare demon beast.】
Wuyun: OωO
The wicked Wuyun opened its round eyes. At that moment, it was chasing after Wu Guanyue’s foot, apparently planning to bite it if it managed to catch it.
Hmm... It really was wicked. But that could be set aside for now.
Daoist Master Songfeng’s death naturally advanced the completion of the main quest.
“Have you heard? Qian Shi’an seems to have run away.”
“That bastard did every evil thing under the sun... and he even claimed our shopkeeper owed him money!”
“Hey, wasn’t it said that he had a demon for a master?”
“Hmph! That demon master was chopped up by our shopkeeper and Big Brother Wenren!”
“They’re that powerful?”
“Shopkeeper, you’re an expert! Forgive us for not recognizing you sooner!”
The guests loudly discussed the matter in the inn’s main hall, conveniently raising the inn’s popularity value as well.
【Quest · Main Quest: Pay Your Debts (Completed!)】
【Quest Rating: ★★★☆☆】
【Quest Details: Just who was Daoist Master Songfeng? And why did he possess two treasures of such astonishing power? These questions occasionally troubled you in the dead of night. Still, you successfully defended your inn, and wasn’t that enough?】
【Quest Reward: [Perhaps... Take a Look at Your Feet? (LV.1)]】
Wu Guanyue’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
The quest reward was written in such a bizarre way that she stared at it for a long time before suddenly logging out of the game.
In an instant, the quaint and elegant immortal city vanished, replaced by the pale ceiling of a hospital room.
Wu Guanyue immediately threw off the covers.
“Hey, Little Yue, what are you doing?”
The caregiver, who had been playing on her phone, was startled by the sudden movement.
Wu Guanyue paid her no attention. She merely stared fixedly at her own feet.
They were little more than skin and bones... Long-term paralysis had caused the muscles in her legs and feet to atrophy, leaving them thin and weak. She could not lift the front of her feet, and her toes always pointed downward. To a healthy person, this would look extremely strange.
But Wu Guanyue had long since grown used to it.
She stared at her feet as her heart pounded faster and faster.
Then—her foot suddenly moved.
Using all the speed she could manage, she put her game helmet back on. The game’s main quest had been updated!
【Quest · Main Quest: The Lotus Tournament!】
【Quest Description: The annual sect tournament at Verdant Cloud Grotto-Heaven is about to begin. It is both a grand event for Meishan City and the inn industry’s peak season! During this quarter, earn more money and popularity, and upgrade the inn to LV.4! Become a hot property where every room is in high demand!】
【Quest Reward: [Granted according to rating]】
This chapter has been revised a little, so I recommend rereading it!!!
