vrcanaries Chapter 40 The Underworld Merchant's Dead Money
Chapter 40 The Underworld Merchant's Dead Money
[Swordsman, you've been struck on the head; you're dead!]
Good grief, an NPC, so fresh and beautiful, just dried me up like that?
Looking at it this way, the blessing from the True Lord of a Hundred Beasts is truly remarkable; it can actually directly ban sword techniques.
Li Qingchen began to understand why these believers were so crazy.
"You can't expect every believer to receive a blessing, can you? Otherwise, what's the point of this game?"
Li Qingchen complained.
The game continues.
[Swordsman, as a precaution, you choose to use the art of disguise hidden in fox fur to impersonate the gambler you once lost to.]
[Furthermore, you learned your lesson and no longer headed for quiet streets, instead targeting bustling squares.]
The square was filled with a large number of believers, who raised their hands and cheered towards the sky, though you couldn't understand what they were shouting.
You guessed that they were asking the True Lord of All Beasts for blessings.
You raise your hands and, with a practiced air, recite the prayer mantra.
The believer next to you frowned: "What are you doing?"
The panel offers two options.
1. Tell believers that you are praying.
2. Turn around and leave immediately.
Li Qingchen thought for a moment and chose option 1.
You replied without batting an eye, "I'm praying for blessings."
[Believer: "You mispronounced the secret phrase."]
You: "Excuse me, could you teach me?"
A kind believer teaches you the secret words; you learn them quickly and easily master the prayer mantra.
[You: "What exactly is the blessing bestowed by the True Lord of Beasts?"]
The believer gestured for silence towards you.
You joined the believers in chanting the secret mantra.
[After an incense stick has burned, if you do not feel any changes in your body, perhaps you have not received a blessing, or perhaps you have received one but are unaware of it.]
After the prayers were finished, the worshippers gradually left the square. Where do you, with no fixed abode, plan to wander around next?
You choose to follow the direction with the most people.
[You might not be imagining things, but you have a vague feeling that someone is watching you.]
"Could it be the guy who hit me with a club?"
Li Qingchen was puzzled. Why was he, a law-abiding citizen, being inexplicably targeted as soon as he entered the town?
You've arrived at a desolate market. This used to be where the residents of Crimson Town bought and sold their produce, but ever since they became obsessed with the Beast Lord's blessing, no one needs crops anymore; what they need are offal.
You wander into the market and find a dry well covered with a slab of wood, which is then weighed down by a stone.
【Swordsman, should you move the stone and see what's in the dry well?】
If you want to save your life, the best option is to leave immediately.
However, this could also lead to missing out on opportunities.
Li Qingchen chose to charge forward recklessly.
You move the stone, open the lid, and find it filled with withered bones, their flesh and blood stripped away. You guess that they, like you, are outsiders.
Li Qingchen looked left and right, but encountered neither danger nor opportunity.
Just then—
[Hint: The "Strong Luck" talent has been triggered!]
coming!
[Swordsman, my intuition tells me this dry well isn't as simple as it seems. Perhaps there's something special beneath these bones.]
Would you be willing to move all these skeletons away and then take a fresh look at the bottom of the dry well?
Since the text already gave this hint, Li Qingchen said, "Let's move it then. Anyway, it's something he does in the game, not something I have to do myself."
You chose to move these skeletons.
[Moving is in progress...]
Time ticked by, second by second...
at last.
[Swordsman, you have successfully moved all these skeletons. You have discovered a hidden door at the bottom of the dry well. Do you wish to open it?]
You choose to open the hidden door.
[Hint: You have discovered the underworld merchant's treasure.]
The underworld merchant preys on the dead. Like a vulture in the animal kingdom, once a target dies, the underworld merchant descends from the underworld to the mortal realm and plunders all its treasures.
[Through this practice, underworld merchants amassed a vast fortune from the dead in a short period of time.]
However, the underworld is teeming with demons and monsters, and news of underworld merchants collecting the wealth of the dead has recently spread like wildfire.
To prevent the wealth of the dead from being stolen by demons and monsters, the underworld merchant chose to come to the Bloodstained Town, burying the treasure at the bottom of a dry well and filling it with bones as a disguise.
"Goodness, the order in the underworld doesn't seem so good either. It's not easy for people to make a living off the dead, so they just rob them."
【Swordsman, do you intend to take the dead's treasures with you? You possess the art of concealment, which allows you to easily hide them within your body.】
However, the underworld merchant is notoriously miserly, and to prevent his treasure from being easily taken away, he often sets up tracking spells and incantations on it.
Once upon a time, there was a band of reckless bandits who committed arson, murder, robbery, and all sorts of atrocities. Relying on their large number of followers, they even dared to rob passing caravans.
They disrespect gods and ghosts, believing only in the Ghost King's Blade in their hands.
One day, the bandits learned that a merchant from the underworld had buried the dead's wealth under a locust tree at the foot of the mountain, and they were overjoyed.
Under the cover of darkness, the bandits swarmed out and indeed unearthed a priceless treasure.
[Gold and silver treasures, magical talismans and artifacts—the treasure chest has everything.]
The bandits were overjoyed. They took the money and arrived in Bloodstained Town, feasting lavishly on Hibiscus Street, loitering wildly in the alleyways, and gambling extravagantly in the gambling dens.
They had the most exhilarating night of their lives, and each of them felt that their lives had been worthwhile, and they could die without regrets.
The next day, the bandits mysteriously vanished from the blood-stained town.
Nobody knows where they went.
Perhaps while they were asleep, their bodies were secretly dismembered by the local believers and offered to the Lord of a Hundred Beasts.
Perhaps they were secretly taken by underworld merchants who came knocking on their door. Maybe the skeletons in the well are those bandits.
Now that you've unearthed the treasure of the underworld merchant, Swordsman, will you take it with you?
[Hint: If you take the treasure, you may face retaliation from the underworld merchant.]
If you're afraid, you can put the remains back in the well, cover it, weigh it down with stones, and pretend you didn't see anything.
How will you make your choice?
Taking it away will lead to retaliation, while not taking it away will allow for a safe evacuation.
How to choose?
"Suffering first doesn't guarantee happiness later, but sweetness first definitely means sweetness!"
Without hesitation, Li Qingchen chose to take the treasure with him.
Who cares, let's have fun first!
[Swordsman, you used the Hiding Magic Technique to store the treasures of the underworld merchant into your body.]
You quickly left the market, found a secluded spot, and began to take inventory of each item.
[Hint: You've obtained the snake's stomach acid!]
[The Snake's Stomach Acid: When the Gluttonous Snake was young, it was fortunate enough to suck the blood of the Taotie, and from then on, its demonic body underwent a qualitative change. Its powerful stomach acid can help it dissolve everything in the world and make it its own. It is because of this that the Gluttonous Snake's growth has become limitless.]
[Swordsman, if you want to forge the Myriad Laws Sword, you can try incorporating it into your existing sword; it will help you.]
"Can it digest anything and then make it its own?"
"Isn't this just the 'Plunder' talent?"
Li Qingchen was startled and immediately took out his sword, Frost Silver, and poured the gluttonous snake's stomach acid onto it.
[Hint: The 'Plunder' talent has been upgraded! Demons that die in any way will be absorbed by you! The demonic energy you absorb will automatically be integrated into your sword!]
Li Qingchen was overjoyed!
One of the three talents of the Sword Embryo has actually been upgraded!
Not only has the restriction of only being able to allocate skill points using swords been lifted, but it also allows the infusion of demonic magic into swords!
The review is still ongoing!
[Hint: You have obtained the Dragon King's Rain-Bringing Talisman!]
After a three-year drought, causing immense suffering to humankind, the Dragon King of the Pure Waters, unable to bear the plight, disregarded the Heavenly Court's rules and forcibly offered his own dragon blood as a sacrifice to bring rain to the world.
Inspired by this, a Taoist master created the Dragon King Rain-Bringing Talisman.
Li Qingchen looked at the three talismans in his hand.
A faint golden light flickered above; simply dripping one's own blood onto it would summon massive rainfall.
Although it doesn't have much destructive power, it's still a superior talisman capable of triggering extraordinary phenomena in the heavens and earth. It's important to know that in the world of supernatural powers, only high-level cultivators can achieve this.
The inventory continues, next one.
[The drinking jug of a sick ghost: Low-level sick ghosts possess all kinds of diseases and store viruses in the jug. Long-term consumption can make the body immune to all poisons.]
"Oh! This is good!"
Li Qingchen really liked this.
Some demons, such as snake demons and toads, are born with deadly poison. If ordinary martial artists do not have emergency measures, they can easily die from poisoning if they are bitten or scratched by them.
By collecting viruses, putting them in a water bottle to refine them, and developing an immune system, one can avoid this problem!
【Swordsman, you can summon the master craftsman and have him fuse the sick ghost's water jug with the Elixir-Swallowing Gourd. Perhaps that will produce even better results.】
Li Qingchen thought the same way; not only could it be upgraded, but it would also free up a slot.
Although the art of concealment can accommodate many things, it ultimately has its limits.
Below were many other high-quality items. As the items flashed by, Li Qingchen felt his eyes were about to be dazzled.
At this moment, a special treasure caught his attention.
You've obtained the eyeball of the underworld merchant!
[The Underworld Merchant's Eyeball: In order to track down the person who stole his treasure, the Underworld Merchant deliberately gouged out one of his own eyeballs and hid it inside the treasure, waiting for the despicable thief.]
Click.
The eyeball in his hand suddenly darted around and stared straight at Li Qingchen.
[Hint: The underworld merchant has seen through your fox fur disguise!]
[You have been targeted by the underworld merchant!]
A dark figure suddenly rises from your shadow, pats your shoulder, and asks, "Had your eye candy?"
You drew your sword and slashed at it.
You are no match for the underworld merchant.
You are dead!
Immediately afterwards, one by one, the treasures were taken away by the underworld merchants.
I'm so angry!
Li Qingchen was getting a little frustrated. How could the duck that was already in his hands fly away!
We must find a way to get it back!
Swordsman, you have been resurrected. You have been targeted by the underworld merchant, and your shadow...
……
at the same time.
The Demon-Slaying Office.
Ding Sen kept tapping the ground with his toes, feeling inexplicably irritated.
It was past noon, but Wang Xin, his trusted confidant, still hadn't returned to report.
Could something have gone wrong?
"Impossible. Even if Lin Bufan managed to escape from Wang Xin by sheer luck, there are still more than thirty pig demons like the Mountain of Flesh watching over him."
"Unless... it's that swordsman!"
"Although I am not particularly close to Flesh Mountain, I deeply despise these wandering knights and will never let them go easily."
"Could it be that the swordsman was able to rescue someone right under Wang Xin's and Rou Shan's noses, and even escape successfully?"
Thinking about this, Ding Sen couldn't sit still any longer.
"You lot, come with me."
"Hey Ding, where are you going? Wherever you go, first untie your grandpa Niu!"
Niu San was tied tightly to a pillar and couldn't move.
His body was covered in bloodstains, and to vent his anger, Ding Sen had his underlings whip him for a full hour.
Ding Sen walked up to Niu San and slapped him across the face.
"You're such an idiot, neither entirely good nor entirely bad. People like you are the ones who disgust me the most."
"Do you really think that a swordsman willing to slay demons can awaken your conscience? Don't dream. Over the years, you've killed so many good people that you can't even count them on one hand."
"Remember, you and I are no different."
Seeing Niu San remain silent, Ding Sen sneered smugly:
"Wait until I bring back Lin Bufan and that swordsman's heads, then I'll see your expression."
After saying that, he turned and left the government office.
The demon-slaying team rushed to the southern suburbs.
It is near Xujiazhuang.
The aroma of meat wafted into everyone's noses and mouths.
"What does it taste like?"
One of the constables sniffed carefully: "It smells like meat?"
"The people outside the city are all poor bastards, where would they get meat to eat?" someone else said.
Ding Sen suddenly realized something, his face turning cold:
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"Chief Constable, what's wrong?"
"This meat... most likely belongs to those pig demons."
Ding Sen said in a deep voice, "The Mountain of Flesh is most likely dead."
"What!?"
Everyone was taken aback!
This is the Flesh Mountain, one of the Four Demons!
With a body as large as a mountain, who could possibly fight him?!
What's more, there are also more than thirty offspring demons!
How could it possibly be in the pot?
It's simply a horror of slipping the world!
Ding Sen thought to himself, "With my current cultivation level, I could probably wipe out the mountain of flesh on my own. Could that swordsman also be an eighth-rank martial artist?"
The bailiffs dismounted and entered the village, roughly kicking open the door, startling the villagers inside.
When the children saw the constables entering the village again, they assumed they were also there to exorcise demons, and hurriedly grabbed a pig's trotter and went over to them.
"Officer, have some meat!"
The bailiff took it and looked at it. I was exhausted from cutting grass, and it really was the meat of the pig demon!
His legs trembled uncontrollably, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
"This...this...aren't you afraid of retribution from the demons?"
"revenge?"
The child with the missing tooth asked in bewilderment, "The man-eating pig demons have all gone into our bellies, how will they take revenge?"
The constable was taken aback.
What you said makes perfect sense!
That's right, if the Mountain of Flesh and those demons are all dead, who will take revenge on them!
Dog General?
Wolf King?
Fox Immortal?
But if someone can kill the Mountain of Flesh, who dares to say that he won't kill the other three demons?
Could it be...?
Is the world in Liaocheng really about to change?!
…………