Outside the mine.
"Steward Xu, I found a Red Flame Crystal."
The sun was high in the sky when Mu Ye emerged from the mine.
Steward Xu stared at him.
"You're not pulling my leg?"
"Come with me!" Mu Ye said with a smile.
With that, Mu Ye led Steward Xu into the mine.
Many laborers had spotted Steward Xu on the way and followed along, their faces full of confusion.
They had searched all morning, and the unlucky ones hadn't even found a single Red Flame Stone.
At last, they reached the spot where the Red Flame Crystal lay.
Its brilliant crimson glow lit the dark cavern with a faint shimmer.
"It really is a Red Flame Crystal!" Steward Xu exclaimed, overjoyed. "You've been a bit lazy lately, but I didn't expect you to be so lucky! Well done, well done!"
The laborers around them looked on with envy.
Steward Xu pulled out a Pickaxe and used the Golden Blade Art as well, carefully tapping at the rocky hollow nearby.
If they had been the ones digging up this Red Flame Crystal, it would have taken them at least several days.
But Steward Xu took only about an hour to dig it out with ease.
The instant it came free, a crimson insect-shaped shadow darted out.
"Hmph, take this, Geng Metal Grass-Cutting Sword!" Steward Xu barked. He pointed his fingers like a sword and slashed at the shadow. A flash of Golden Light Sword Qi swept past, cutting the insect in two. It fell to the ground with a sizzling sound like splashing magma.
The laborers around them watched with taut nerves.
As a steward with a cultivation base at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, he was far beyond laborers like them, who were only at the first or second layer.
The same spell, but Steward Xu's Golden Blade Art is so much stronger than mine... Mu Ye marveled inwardly.
As for the Geng Metal Grass-Cutting Sword, the name sounded decent, but it was really just a weed-clearing spell.
Steward Xu had probably started out as a farmer.
"Today's haul is excellent!" Steward Xu laughed heartily as he put away the Red Flame Crystal and the dead demon insect. Then he casually took out a Storage Bag, pulled out ten Round Spirit Stones, and tossed them to Mu Ye. "Here. You've got luck on your side, kid. Keep mining hard from now on!"
After that, Steward Xu left the mine, beaming with delight.
Mu Ye put the Spirit Stones into his Storage Bag.
The Jinshi Sect was a fairly righteous sect that followed the rules. A steward wouldn't stoop to pocketing someone else's gains.
Perhaps ten Spirit Stones weren't much to Steward Xu.
But for Mu Ye, they were worth more than a year's earnings.
The day's mining soon came to an end. Mu Ye left right on time as usual, and this time Steward Xu didn't say anything.
"Time to grind the game!"
Back at the Stone House, Mu Ye ate his fill, locked the doors and windows, and hung up a sign that read, "Cultivating. Please do not disturb."
This lousy game had an Anti-Addiction System, so at most he could play until two or three in the morning.
Sure, he'd be staying up late, but he was cultivating immortality now. Wasn't staying up late perfectly normal?
[Game Paradise, define your life.]
After the opening animation, Mu Ye entered [Sword and Blade Demon Sealing].
"Should I try clearing True Mode again?"
Mu Ye thought it over.
True Mode was more immersive than normal mode, but he couldn't reload saves, which meant he'd have to start over if he died. That would waste quite a bit of time.
"Forget it. I'll try normal mode first and see what's going on at Shen Mansion."
He chose Demon Sealer and entered the game, quickly arriving at Shen Mansion.
This time, Mu Ye didn't wait in the side room or head straight to the front hall to wait for the banquet to begin.
In the conversation with the maid, he chose the second option.
[2. I've heard Madam Shen is Guo Se Tian Xiang. Everyone loves beauty, and I only wish to catch a glimpse of her.]
After he chose, a notification appeared, announcing that the achievement quest had begun.
The maid giggled.
"My lady is indeed very beautiful, but she's getting ready in her chambers. You'll have to wait."
Mu Ye thought the maid was clever and sweet.
The maids in a wealthy household were quite charming too.
But the choices had changed this time.
After the maid spoke, no further options appeared.
[1. I can't wait any longer. To be honest, I've been poisoned with Half-Day Fatal Poison. Once noon passes, I'll be dead.]
[2. (Draws blade) Little maid, take me to Madam Shen at once, or don't blame my blade for being merciless!]
As a Demon Sealer, how could he choose option 1?
Mu Ye controlled the character, drew his blade, and in the blink of an eye held it against the maid's snow-white neck.
"Please... don't kill me..." The maid's face turned deathly pale. "I'll take you to see Madam Shen right away."
Mu Ye's lips curled into a faint smile. It seemed that if he wanted to meet Madam Shen early, he couldn't go to the banquet first.
The maid led the Demon Sealer through a few turns and brought him to a Quiet and Elegant chamber.
"My lady is in here..." the maid whispered.
Mu Ye stepped closer and saw that the chamber door was locked.
[1. Chop Door (requires a certain level of strength)]
[2. Pick Lock (ability not unlocked)]
[3. Step aside and wait quietly]
Mu Ye controlled the character and slashed the door with his blade, but it was astonishingly sturdy and wouldn't break.
Clearly, the Novice Demon Sealer wasn't strong enough.
He was great at killing demons, but... seemed mediocre at everything else?
In normal mode, he couldn't Synchronize Abilities with the player, and he didn't have the Golden Blade Art either.
Mu Ye exited the game and entered True Mode. He retraced the same steps to the chamber door, then used the Golden Blade Art to enchant his broadsword. After several slashes, he finally smashed the door apart.
"Success!"
But before he could celebrate, two Man-Eating Demon Foxes that looked alike charged out of the room.
At the same time, from the corner of his eye, Mu Ye spotted a graceful figure on the large bed in the chamber. She was bound from head to toe with ropes, and her breathing had already ceased.
The next second, the two demons attacked him from both sides, their claws tearing through his body.
Staring at the game screen, Mu Ye suddenly understood.
"So there were two demons?" Mu Ye mused. "One was in Madam Shen's room, while the other was pretending to be Madam Shen and going out to eat people..."
No wonder so many people had died at Shen Mansion even after he killed one demon.
This must have been the final challenge of the Tutorial Stage.
To clear it perfectly, he had to rescue Madam Shen and defeat both Man-Eating Demon Foxes.
"I get it now."
Mu Ye smiled, more or less sure of how to clear it perfectly.
"Divide and conquer. I need to kill the one in the room first, then the one outside pretending to be Madam Shen."
Starting over!
In True Mode, Mu Ye arrived at the chamber, let the maid go, then chose the third option and waited quietly to one side.
After a while, the door opened, and a graceful figure emerged.
Mu Ye stayed still. Once the figure had left the chamber, he drew his long blade and suddenly slashed at the door. With the Golden Blade Art on it and his practiced swings, he split the door open in just a few breaths.
Then Mu Ye immediately activated the Demon Sealer's Demon Subduing Body state. Red circuits glimmered across his body as he entered the room.
Beside the bed, a slightly larger Man-Eating Demon Fox was sprawled across the mattress.
Strands of pink mist slowly drifted from the beauty beneath the fox.
Her face was alluring, her bearing bewitching, but her eyes were hazy, as though she hadn't woken up. Her breathing was growing fainter by the moment.
"Just as I thought."
Mu Ye stepped forward and slashed. The Man-Eating Demon Fox shrieked viciously, hurriedly leapt off the bed, and stared at Mu Ye with a savage expression.
"This fox is a little weaker."
Mu Ye couldn't be bothered to overthink it. With his current state and the Golden Blade Art, even the larger one outside wouldn't stand a chance. What did he have to worry about?
Mu Ye swung his blade a few times and cut it down, then looked at Madam Shen, who was slowly waking on the bed.
She sat up, straightened her disheveled hair, and covered her pale, bare skin with her Embroidered Clothes. Parting her lips, she asked weakly:
"May I ask who you are?"
[1. I'm a Demon Sealer who fought alongside Hero Shen in Chishui Village. Hero Shen entrusted me with protecting your life.]
[2. I'm a Demon Sealer without feelings.]
Naturally, he chose option 1.
"A Demon Sealer who fought alongside him?"
Madam Shen's expression changed slightly. "But... as far as I know, every Demon Sealer who traveled with Shen Tianxing died in Chishui Village. Not one survived."
"..." Mu Ye.
Huh?
That was awkward.
At that moment, a message popped up:
[Achievement quest 'Legacy of Wei Wu' completed.]
Before you continue