There were eight guides to clearing Qingshui Village in total.
But none of these guides were complete. They only described what the players had encountered after entering the Instance, and some contained nothing more than unconfirmed guesses.
Reading the full text of each guide cost anywhere from at least 100,000 to over 200,000 yuan.
Only B-rank personnel or above were authorized to view these guides. B-rank personnel received a 30% discount, A-rank personnel received a 70% discount, and members of S-rank or above could read them for free.
With only a 30% discount, he would have to spend quite a bit to buy these guides.
Only then did Shen Hao realize that the three-million-yuan bonus he had just received was hardly worth mentioning.
This guild is way too greedy, Shen Hao thought.
Although the pay was good, the expenses were high too.
But without a guide, even a Demon like him could fail. After all, this was his first time entering an S-rank Instance.
Buying all the guides would cost 970,000 yuan in total. Shen Hao didn't hesitate and bought them all.
He had spent 970,000 in the blink of an eye, and only on a few incomplete game guides. It was something his past self would never have dared imagine.
But his life was definitely more important than money. If he died in the Instance, no amount of money left over would mean anything.
Shen Hao began reading the game guides.
"We were probably the first group of Alliance Guild players to enter this Instance. I was the only one who got out alive. The other four were all killed before they could last long enough to leave the Instance.
"The Instance mission is to obtain the Bloodstained Holy Grail guarded by the Headless Knight. It's an important item and the key to opening the next Instance.
"After entering the Instance, you'll find the teleportation point east of the village. Follow the road west and you'll see the village.
"Based on our previous experience, we were worried there was something wrong with the villagers, so we didn't communicate with them.
"We stayed outside the village the whole time. At night, we encountered the Headless Knight. There's a goddess statue in the middle of the village, and we hid there with the villagers.
"Even the Instance boss, the Headless Knight, didn't dare approach the goddess statue.
"But you can't stay too long. Your Mental Attribute will keep dropping, and when it falls below 10, you'll go insane.
"And you won't even notice it happening, so make sure to check your Mental Attribute at all times.
"Several of my teammates stayed there too long, and their Mental Attributes weren't high to begin with. They were assimilated by the goddess statue, lost their minds, and became fanatical believers in the goddess.
"In the end, I barely managed to hold out for three days before escaping the Instance. I never found the Headless Knight's lair, and I didn't get a single clue about the Holy Grail either."
This guide had been posted three years ago and didn't contain much information. After all, its author had been among the first players to enter the Instance.
Without a guide, the death rate in the game Instance was still very high. Only one person had survived.
Next was the second guide.
"Whatever you do, don't provoke those villagers. They aren't kind, and they aren't pushovers either. If you absolutely have to deal with them, you must show extreme reverence for the goddess.
"Remember, it has to be extreme reverence. Your faith must be extreme and fanatical. If you aren't extreme or fanatical enough, they'll consider you a blasphemer.
"They are the goddess's dependents and also her fanatical believers.
"You can't usually tell, but once they go crazy, they're really strong. There are around a hundred of them too, so they're very hard to fight.
"We had a useless teammate who just had to talk to the villagers.
"One of the villagers praised the goddess, and that useless teammate of ours said the same thing back. But because he didn't say it with enough feeling, they hunted us down for three days and three nights.
"We didn't accomplish anything, and two people died.
"So if you're smart, don't provoke them.
"One more thing: we hid in the woods east of the village and never encountered the Headless Knight. I don't know if he simply doesn't go there."
Next was the third guide.
"We had a friendly exchange with the villagers. They're quite kind, provided, of course, that you show extreme reverence for their goddess.
"With the villagers' help, we found the Headless Knight's lair. It was beneath a huge dead tree west of the village.
"We figured the mission item, the Bloodstained Holy Grail, was there too.
"It was daytime. We dug for a long time and even pushed the tree over, but we didn't find anything or encounter the Headless Knight.
"The tree can't be set on fire or destroyed by any means.
"That night, the tree came back to life, and the Headless Knight burst out through a gap in its tangled roots.
"His entire body was covered in green flames. Whatever you do, don't touch them. Those flames burn the soul directly.
"We fought the Headless Knight, but we were no match for him. One person died.
"Afterward, we discovered that the Headless Knight always emerged from beneath the tree at dusk. It is weakest at dusk. If you want to kill it, you must do it then.
"Maybe our team just wasn't strong enough. Even at dusk, we couldn't win and had to retreat."
The fourth guide.
"There's a pool beneath the goddess statue. The villagers call its water holy water. The water has been steeped in the goddess's aura for years and can suppress the Headless Knight.
"But we learned this too late and ultimately failed to clear the Instance.
"Remember, don't let the villagers find out you stole the water, or they'll hunt you down until you're dead."
The fifth guide.
"We almost killed the Headless Knight, but fell short at the final hurdle. After the Headless Knight was killed, he came back to life, and we no longer had the strength to kill him a second time.
"I have a feeling there's something in the Instance that hasn't been discovered yet. Those who come after us can explore further."
The sixth guide.
"We made an important discovery. We learned an important clue from the villagers.
"The Headless Knight was once a subordinate of the cruel Lord of the Netherworld, who ruled this world.
"Back then, the gods overthrew the Lord of the Netherworld's rule and killed him. This minion of the Lord of the Netherworld was beheaded, and the sword that beheaded him is still here."
The seventh guide.
"We found the sword that beheaded the Headless Knight. It can be stored in the inventory and is called the Rusty Bloodstained Greatsword, but it can't be taken out of the Instance before clearing it.
"Unfortunately, we didn't find the sword until the night of the fourth day. The Headless Knight was very strong at that time, and he killed two of our people.
"The three of us who were left ran to the teleportation point and were forced to leave.
"I'm sure that if it had been dusk and we'd had holy water, we could definitely have killed the Headless Knight. We were just a little short of clearing the dungeon.
"The sword was in my inventory before I left, but when I returned to the real world, it was gone.
"Now I don't know where the sword is either. You'll have to look for it yourselves once you go in.
"We found it in the river south of the village. I don't know if it'll respawn."
The eighth guide.
"We found the greatsword that beheaded the Headless Knight. It was in the villagers' hands; they were keeping it as a collectible.
"We claimed to be the goddess's messengers and easily tricked them into handing over the sword.
"But remember, when impersonating them, you must show extreme reverence for the goddess and be sufficiently imposing.
"Those villagers don't have much in the way of brains. Just pick a few villagers, slap a charge of blasphemy on them, and burn them to death to assert your authority. Then they'll believe you.
"In short, if you're crazier than they are, you're basically in the clear.
"I also learned the whereabouts of the Bloodstained Holy Grail from the villagers. That cup once held the Lord of the Netherworld's blood. It's an extremely evil item.
"It's certain that the Headless Knight's power comes from the bloodstains inside the cup. As long as we kill the Headless Knight, we can obtain the Bloodstained Holy Grail.
"But there were two useless teammates on our team. They ran off as soon as the teleportation point opened on the third day, leaving me alone.
"I didn't know if I could beat him on my own, and I didn't dare try. In the end, I had no choice but to leave the Instance.
"To sum up, it'll be much easier if your team has a Boundary System Ability User.
"One more thing: the guide to clearing the dungeon is basically complete now. If the next team can't clear it, they really are too weak."
That was the end of the game guides. There had been eight consecutive failures to clear the dungeon, but clearly, each attempt had brought new discoveries. These people had already found a way to clear it.
The Headless Knight wasn't weak, but now that they had a way to counter him, the Instance could be conquered at any time.
If nothing unexpected happened, the team entering the Instance this time would be able to clear it.
But now, it seemed there was something unexpected.
Because the Demon had arrived, everything would be different.