Chapter 270: Slaying Demons and Exorcising Evil |
[Team survival count: 5 people.]
[The team has achieved the Hidden Ending: Slaying Demons and Exorcising Evil]
[Ending Intro:
You found out the truth behind the abnormal changes in the Prince of Huainan's Tomb and discovered that this tomb is a terrifyingly fierce and ominous place. But you did not feel afraid of this; instead, you faced the difficulties head-on. Relying on your superb skills, you miraculously killed the Ghost King that had lain dormant in the tomb for hundreds of years and released the innocent vengeful spirits.
You left this place facing the sunlight. Behind you, the tomb only held the scattered remnants of ghosts and monsters. The resentment and Yin energy are still compressed here, but you know that in the short term, no more harmful evil entities will appear.
As long as the tomb's Feng Shui is destroyed, allowing sunlight to shine directly into its interior, ghost creatures will no longer breed here. However, that is no longer your task.
Having performed perfectly, you easily go down the mountain and decide to inform the county magistrate of this good news, letting him handle the matter.]
[Having resolved such a major disaster, you know in your hearts that you will soon become famous. The story of slaying demons and exorcising evil will soon appear in the mouths of teahouses and storytellers.]
[Community teleportation has been opened. You will automatically be teleported to the Community in 180 seconds.]
Everyone, including Bai Mu, breathed a sigh of relief. They stood halfway up Bagong Mountain, with the sunlight shining directly on their faces. At the tomb entrance was a babbling river.
Because the tomb was very dim, Bai Mu, who wasn't quite used to the strong light, subconsciously blocked it a few times with his hand.
The wind blew from down the mountain, carrying the fresh scent of vegetation. The scenery of this settlement scene was truly refreshing. The sky was as blue as freshly washed celadon, without a single cloud. The sunlight slanted down, dyeing the entire mountain in a warm golden hue.
Beneath their feet was a gentle slope. Down the grassy slope was a mixed forest. Further away, the silhouettes of a city, villages, and farmland could be seen—a beautiful picture of rural and pastoral scenery.
Bai Mu took a deep breath of fresh air. Looking at this beautiful natural landscape, his mood improved considerably. After all, that tomb was truly oppressive. Even if they had killed all the ghosts and monsters, the scenery could definitely not be called good. Walking inside, one would occasionally step on a dried-up corpse or two and smell that unique, pungent odor of embalming.
After the Community option opened, I Love a Sword hurriedly ran over to Bai Mu to add him as a friend. The class change book for the Daoist class was too tempting for him. His skills and equipment were inherently related to Daoists. If he could learn this class, he could definitely accumulate class experience rapidly. Whatever he missed, he absolutely didn't want to miss out on that class change book.
So, Bai Mu and he added each other as friends, agreeing to discuss the trade after returning to the Community.
The other two girls also came up and added him as a friend. Bai Mu accepted them one by one. He didn't have many friends to begin with. As teammates who had broken through the gates of hell together, they were ultimately more reliable than other players in the Community. Besides inviting each other to team up, adding friends also allowed them to see if they had equipment or items the other needed, so there was no harm in it.
Scattered Fireflies also added them as friends. Facts proved that her skill level was actually quite good; in fact, at critical moments, she was the calmest one. The other three all acknowledged her strength.
"Alright, Brother Bai, it's a deal. After we go back and finish the tally, I'll contact you," I Love a Sword laughed. "I'll be taking off first then. See you later."
"OK," Bai Mu replied.
I Love a Sword turned into a ray of white light and disappeared. Work Three Rest Four and Brewing Cat waved goodbye, and then also left the tomb door.
"Let's go too, Brother Bai," Scattered Fireflies said.
Thus, the two of them also clicked teleport and turned into white light.
During the teleportation, there was also a cutscene: five figures viewed from behind, carrying the head of a hideous zombie, arriving in high spirits before the government office in full view of the public.
[The script 'Prince of Huainan's Tomb' has ended.]
[The Side Quest 'Xuan Mingzi' has been completed.]
The notification sound for the completion of the Side Quest reached Bai Mu's ears.
[Do you wish to view the extra storyline for the Side Quest 'Xuan Mingzi'?]
[Yes/No?]
[Selecting 'No' will skip the storyline and immediately teleport you to the Community.]
[Remaining selection time: 10 seconds (Defaults to 'No' after the countdown ends)]
"Yes." Bai Mu wasn't short on that little bit of time, so he clicked yes, and thus he entered a first-person perspective mode.
[After receiving your reward from the county magistrate, you parted ways with the other four. Carrying the letter found in the Prince of Huainan's Tomb and the damaged lightning-struck wood bracelet, you headed to Mount Mao alone.]
[After a journey of horse and carriage, you arrived at the Mount Mao Daoist temple and presented the letter and Xuan Mingzi's relics in full.]
The scene transitioned to the main hall of a Daoist temple. The shrine was carved from wood, pitch-black, and adorned with patterns of dragons, phoenixes, and auspicious clouds. The shrine doors were open, and inside sat three deity statues.
In front of the shrine was a purple sandalwood incense table, on which were placed the five offerings. Bai Mu could see that the walls of the hall were covered with murals. They were brightly colored, allowing every detail to be seen clearly.
It looked like a story of a certain Daoist retreating into the mountains to cultivate the Dao, encountering an immortal who imparted Daoist arts to him, and then ascending while riding a crane.
This Daoist temple had a good number of worshippers; many pilgrims were offering incense inside the hall.
Several people dressed as Daoist priests were examining the silk cloth inscribed with words and the lightning-struck wood bracelet in front of the hall.
"I found it, Master!"
A young Daoist priest suddenly ran in, hugging a stack of yellowing, thread-bound books.
"It's Xuan Mingzi, a thirty-second generation disciple of the orthodox Maoshan sect from three hundred years ago!"
"Three hundred years ago, he deceived his master, betrayed his ancestors, and violated the ancestral master's commandments. He was struck from the disciple register long ago. We had to flip through the records for a long time before finding his name in a miscellaneous record."
"But as for that Perfected Yang, there is some record of him. The register states that he was a highly respected, virtuous, and charitable ancestral master named Yang Xuanzhen, with the Daoist title Xuanzhenzi. He wasn't buried at the Daoist temple, and his specific whereabouts couldn't be found, but there is a spirit tablet for him in the Ancestral Master Hall."
The few Daoist priests in the hall frowned tightly and said, "Apologies, Your Excellency. I'm afraid we still need to thoroughly investigate this matter regarding Xuan Mingzi. For now, we cannot place his spirit tablet in the Daoist temple."
"However, if this matter is true, we will certainly clear his name."
"Since this is an internal matter of our Mount Mao, we request that Your Excellency refrain from spreading it everywhere."
As a bystander, Bai Mu couldn't interfere with the events within the storyline. However, he could tell that this group of people didn't care much about an old incident from three hundred years ago.
It was also normal. A full three hundred years had passed. Even the dynasty had changed its name, and who knows how many emperors had come and gone. What weight did a long-forgotten Mount Mao disciple hold?
The truth of history actually wasn't important; what was important was that they didn't want this matter to damage their reputation and cause the number of pilgrims to dwindle.
'I suppose this is a very realistic ending,' Bai Mu thought to himself.
Just as he thought this matter was going to end hastily, suddenly, a few elders walked into the main hall from outside. Leaning on walking sticks, they walked unsteadily and spoke incoherently. A few young juniors closely supported them.
The elders came to the front of the hall, took out an old family letter from their robes, handed it to the Daoist priest, and said, "Daoist Master, this is a family letter passed down through generations. When my father passed away, he repeatedly instructed us that we must absolutely never forget the Daoist Master's grace."
"Only wait for the right time, we must definitely bring the truth to light and clear our benefactor's name."
The elders and juniors all knelt down one after another and shouted in unison, "Please clear our benefactor's name."
"Who... who exactly are you?" the Daoist priest asked.
"We are the descendants of the children the Daoist Master saved from the tomb back then," an elder said.
They offered up an old spirit tablet engraved with three characters: Xuan Mingzi.
Then the scene shifted to a pitch-black night.
A young Daoist priest, moving stealthily, was leading a group of young boys and girls through Bagong Mountain.
Relying on a token, he tricked the government soldiers and arrived at a ferry crossing. He said, "I have already prepared travel expenses for you. The person on the boat is a contact I found. He is someone you can trust and will take you to a safe place. After you leave, remember to change your names and surnames. You must absolutely never mention what happened today again."
"Big Brother Daoist, aren't... aren't you coming with us?" a girl with braided pigtails asked.
"You really look alike," the Daoist priest paused for a moment, patted the girl's head, crouched down, and said softly, "Big Brother has to find a way to rescue the other children too."
"Then... will we be able to see each other again? Big Brother Daoist?"
"We will," the Daoist priest said. "Once the matters here are resolved, I'll come find you to play, alright?"
"Really?"
The Daoist priest said, "The boat is here. Hurry up and get on. This is a place of trouble, you shouldn't stay long. Leave quickly."
He sent the children onto the boat one by one, stood at the ferry crossing watching the small boat drift away, and then turned to walk toward the dark and oppressive Bagong Mountain. He didn't look back a single time.
[The extra storyline has ended.]