The Stomach of the Violet Orchid God

You hear the cry of a raven echoing in your mind, and you watch as the scenery before you rapidly becomes illusory, distorted, and melted, until it shatters into pieces.

The effect of the Doom-Bringing Raven activates, and you have returned to the moment before you made your last choice.

The oath upon your person has already dissolved the moment the save file was reloaded.

You are no longer shackled by the oath.

You open your eyes once more in the swamps of Dark Fog Town, where distorted, aberrant monsters roam. Thanks to the effect of the Garment of the Hidden World, they have not detected your presence.

You hear the cries for help from the ancient temple once again, filled with pain, helplessness, despair, and unwillingness.

So, you cheater who always relies on reloading to escape danger, knowing full well that the six-faced monster is a collection of six old schemers, how will you choose this time?

Shifting his posture on the sofa to get more comfortable, Yang Qizhou could actually understand the actions of the leaders of the Six Great Cults.

The calamity that befell Dark Fog Town has not yet dissipated, and the eerie winds capable of polluting life still permeate the surroundings. For a game character to traverse such a wilderness of the unknown and mysterious, dodging the horrors within the wind and avoiding the monsters that the residents have mutated into, only to finally reach the temple—such a Traveler is truly rare.

The constant torment of their souls prevents them from pinning their hopes on the next savior, who might not appear for who knows how long. Furthermore, fearing that the game character might not put their heart into collecting the seven Sacred Offerings of the King of Virtues, their rich experience and deep cunning compelled them to take countermeasures.

And placing the "shackles of the oath" on the game character was undoubtedly the best choice.

But understanding does not mean accepting.

They promised a powerful holy relic as a reward, and yes, they did indeed give a holy relic, but this thing is not only unusable, it also draws the hostility of various evil gods and numerous hidden existences.

Is this how you test your cadres?

Are you trying to fool a ghost?

Not to mention that these six old schemers also tried to put a dog collar on the game character.

If Yang Qizhou could have tolerated that, he wouldn't have punched his boss and lost his job in the first place.

A palm-sized object, elastic like a gummy candy, appeared in Yang Qizhou's hand, emitting a hazy halo. It was the special holy relic, Root of the Ancient Days, obtained from the "six-faced monster."

"I didn't want to freeload, but why did you have to play these mind games?"

Putting the item away, Yang Qizhou continued the game.

As for the binary choice before him... Yang Qizhou now had no affection whatsoever for the monster formed by the fusion of the six cult leaders, and he was even less inclined to pay them any mind, so he naturally chose "two."

"Always a vengeful Traveler, you felt quite annoyed by the deception of the six-faced monster in the previous timeline and decided to ignore the cries for help."

"You depart from the vicinity of the temple."

"You listen to the faint, intermittent cries for help, with no intention of stopping."

"You wander through Dark Fog Town."

"You continue to wander."

"You continue to wander."

"Relying on the effect of the Garment of the Hidden World, you have not been discovered by any aberrant monsters, which makes you marvel at the power of a 'quasi-legendary' Old Day Item."

"You search for a long time, but find nothing."

"You realize that Dark Fog Town has been completely destroyed in the storm and it is impossible to find any treasures, so you decide to leave Dark Fog Town."

"The fork in the road of fate appears before you again. With the experience of the previous timeline, you know very well that ten miles south of Dark Fog Town lies a mysterious place called the Spring of Heaven, where the Sacred Offering of the King of Virtues, [Holy Redemption], is located. However, at the same time, the protection of the Ancient Fire-Stealing God is fading, and Fire-Stealing Village is in a perilous situation, fraught with crises and in urgent need of help."

"So, you explorer who cannot forget the beauty of Lena."

"Do you choose to head to the Spring of Heaven ten miles south and secure [Holy Redemption] first?"

"Or do you rush back to Fire-Stealing Village immediately to tell Lena the truth that Dark Fog Town has been destroyed, so she can find another way as soon as possible?"

"Please make your choice."

Yang Qizhou didn't even analyze it much before choosing "one."

Returning to Fire-Stealing Village immediately might trigger a new plot, but that is only a "might." Meanwhile, [Holy Redemption] is right before his eyes. As one of the seven sacred artifacts that allow the King of Virtues to descend, its grade certainly won't be low; this is a tangible benefit.

Not to mention that as soon as [Holy Redemption] is obtained, the game will provide the coordinates for the next sacred offering, which is a chain questline.

Once all seven Sacred Offerings of the King of Virtues are collected, the benefits gained might be even greater than the harvest from killing the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World.

The game continues.

"You head toward the location of the Spring of Heaven."

"You are on your way."

"Relying on the effect of the Garment of the Hidden World, you dodge many unknown horrors in the wilderness."

"You arrive before a flower forest."

"You see jellyfish-like life forms drifting in the air, and purple flowers swaying, emitting a fragrance. The scenery here is extremely beautiful."

"The two Root-Court Hounds following you bark in terror and keep retreating."

"You pay it no mind; after all, relying on the powerful effect of the Garment of the Hidden World, you have avoided countless dangers and believe this time will be no exception."

"You stride confidently into the flower forest."

"You are digested by the [Stomach of the Violet Orchid God], leaving not even a bone behind, not even a chance to have your ashes scattered."

"You have died."

???

Yang Qizhou's mind didn't quite register what was happening, and it took him a long while to figure it out.

It turned out this flower forest wasn't a flower forest at all, but the stomach of an unknown entity known as the "Violet Orchid God," manifested into reality. It was like a gaping abyss of a mouth; once you stepped inside, you would be digested, which was the same as being eaten.

So, death really does come in a thousand strange forms.

This game might as well stop being called [World of Weirdness] and change its name to [One Hundred Thousand Bizarre Ways for Game Characters to Die].

Complaints aside, the game had to go on.

The process remained the same: take a trip to the River of Death, experience being peeked at by an unknown entity once more, and then choose between respawning on the spot or reloading a save.

Yang Qizhou pondered for a moment and chose to use the ability of the "Doom-Bringing Raven."

There was no other reason.

He just had plenty of save slots.

He was feeling flush.

"You have returned to the moment before you made your last choice."

"Greedy explorer who never knows satisfaction, you still covet the sacrificial item [Holy Redemption]. You have not retreated despite being digested by the 'Violet Orchid God' and becoming nutrients for Its people; you have chosen to set off for the 'Spring of Heaven' once again."

"You continue on your journey."

"Knowing that walking straight ahead will inevitably lead you to the 'Stomach of the Violet Orchid God,' you decide to take a detour."

"You are on your way."

"You encounter a mysterious figure hanging upside down from a tree, draped in black cloth. You sense that He is not to be trifled with and decide to bypass Him."

"Relying on the effect of the 'Garment of the Hidden World,' you remain undetected."

"You pick up your pace."

"Night falls, and you choose to light the 'Ancient God Fire Lamp.' The power of stolen fire protects you from the 'Scion of the Dark Night'."

"Day breaks, and you continue your journey."

"You have arrived at the 'Spring of Heaven'."

Nice.

Yang Qizhou felt like kissing the "Garment of the Hidden World" twice. If it weren't for this "quasi-legendary" grade Old Day Item, the unknown horrors in the wilderness would have made it impossible for his game character to move even an inch. Without dying a few thousand times, there would be no way to reach this place.

Striking while the iron was hot, Yang Qizhou intended to keep tapping the screen to refresh the text, striving to obtain [Holy Redemption] as soon as possible.

Ding-dong.

A new message appeared in the Secret Cultivator Society group.

[Cheetah (Member): I have a trade, it's extremely urgent. I need to know the current status of the "Ancient God of Judgment." Clues are fine too, but they must be guaranteed to be information obtained from the game.]