The Stomach of the Violet Orchid God

"You heard a raven's call echo in your mind. The scene before your eyes quickly grew illusory, twisted, and melted away until it shattered into pieces."

"Doom-Bringing Raven's effect activated. You returned to the moment you last made a choice."

"The oath on you had already expired when you loaded your save."

"You were no longer bound by the oath."

"You opened your eyes again in the swamp of Dark Fog Town. Distorted, mutated monsters wandered nearby, but thanks to the Garment of the Hidden World, they hadn't noticed you."

"You heard the cries for help coming from the ancient temple again, filled with pain, helplessness, despair, and unwillingness to give up."

"So, you're a cheater who always relies on reloading to escape danger, and you know the Six-Faced Monster is an alliance of six old schemers. What will you choose this time?"

Yang Qizhou shifted to a more comfortable position on the sofa. He could understand the leaders of the Six Great Cults' actions.

The calamity that had struck Dark Fog Town hadn't subsided. The area was still shrouded in a strange wind that could corrupt living beings. Very few Travelers like the game's protagonist could cross the Wilderness, which bridged the unknown and the mysterious, evade the horrors in the wind, avoid being harmed by the monsters mutated from the townsfolk, and make it all the way to the temple.

The constant torment of their souls meant they couldn't pin their hopes on another savior who might not appear for who knew how long. And fearing that the game's protagonist wouldn't make every effort to gather the seven Sacred Offerings of the King of Virtues, they had no choice but to prepare a countermeasure, bolstered by their vast experience and profound cunning.

Putting the protagonist under "the shackles of an oath" was undoubtedly the best choice...

But understanding didn't mean accepting it.

They'd promised a powerful holy relic as payment. And sure, they'd given him one—but this thing was not only useless to him, it also earned him the enmity of all kinds of evil gods and countless hidden beings.

You think this is how you test a cadre?

Who were they trying to fool?

And that was without mentioning that those six old schemers had tried to put a leash on the protagonist.

If Yang Qizhou could've put up with that, he wouldn't have beaten up 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, glowing faintly. It was the special holy relic he'd obtained from the Six-Faced Monster: the Root of the Ancient Days.

"I didn't want to take something for free, but why did you have to play games with me?"

He put the item away and continued playing.

As for the choice in front of him... Yang Qizhou had no affection for the monster formed from the fused, mutated leaders of the Six Great Cults, and couldn't be bothered to deal with them anymore. Naturally, he chose "two."

"The adventurer, who always paid back every slight, had been furious at the Six-Faced Monster's deception in the previous timeline. He decided to ignore the cries for help."

"You left the area near the temple."

"You listened to the faint, intermittent cries for help, but had no intention of stopping."

"You wandered around Dark Fog Town."

"You continued wandering."

"You continued wandering."

"Thanks to the Garment of the Hidden World, none of the mutated monsters noticed you. You couldn't help marveling at the power of a 'quasi-Legendary' Old Day Item."

"You searched for a long time but found nothing."

"You realized that Dark Fog Town had been completely destroyed by the storm, and there was no chance of finding any treasures. You decided to leave."

"A fork in the road of fate appeared before you once more. Having experienced the previous timeline, you knew very well that ten miles south of Dark Fog Town was a mysterious place called the Spring of Heaven. The King of Virtues' Sacred Offering, Holy Redemption, was there. But the Ancient Fire-Stealing God's protection was fading, and Fire-Stealing Village was in a perilous situation, beset by dangers and in urgent need of help."

"So, adventurer who can't stop thinking about Lena's beauty..."

"Will you head ten miles south to the Spring of Heaven and get Holy Redemption first?"

"Or will you rush back to Fire-Stealing Village right away, tell Lena that Dark Fog Town has been destroyed, and help her find another way as soon as possible?"

"Make your choice."

Yang Qizhou chose "one" without giving it much thought.

Returning to Fire-Stealing Village right away might trigger a new storyline, but that was only a "might." Holy Redemption was right there. As one of the seven sacred items required to summon the King of Virtues, it was sure to be of a high grade. That was a concrete reward.

What's more, once he got Holy Redemption, the game would give him the location of the next Sacred Offering. This was a whole chain of quest events.

If he collected all seven Sacred Offerings of the King of Virtues, the rewards might be even greater than what he'd gained from killing the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World.

The game continued.

"You headed for the Spring of Heaven."

"You were traveling."

"Relying on the Garment of the Hidden World, you evaded the many unknown horrors in the Wilderness."

"You arrived in front of a flower grove."

"You saw jellyfish-like creatures floating through the air. Purple flowers swayed, filling the air with their fragrance. The scenery here was breathtaking."

"The two Root-Court Hounds following you started barking in terror and backed away."

"You paid them no mind. After all, the powerful Garment of the Hidden World had helped you avoid countless dangers. You believed it would be no different this time."

"You strode into the flower grove."

"You were digested by the Stomach of the Violet Orchid God, leaving no trace of your remains. There wasn't even a chance to scatter your ashes."

"You died."

"???"

Yang Qizhou couldn't wrap his head around it. It took him a long while to figure out what had happened.

It turned out the flower grove wasn't a flower grove at all. It was the stomach of an unknown being known as the Purple Orchid God, manifested in the real world. Like a gaping abyss, it would digest anyone who stepped inside—in other words, eat them alive.

"So, you really can die in all kinds of bizarre ways."

"They might as well stop calling this game World of Weirdness and rename it A Hundred Thousand Ridiculous Ways for the Protagonist to Die."

He could gripe all he wanted, but he still had to keep playing.

The process was the same as before: first, a trip to the River of Death, then another encounter with an unknown being peeking at him, followed by a choice between reviving on the spot and reloading his save.

Yang Qizhou thought for a moment, then chose to use Doom-Bringing Raven's ability.

No particular reason.

He'd reloaded too many times already.

He could afford it.

"You returned to the moment you last made a choice."

"The greedy adventurer, never satisfied, still coveted the Sacred Offering Holy Redemption. Being digested by the Purple Orchid God and turned into nourishment for its subjects hadn't made you give up. You still chose to set out for the Spring of Heaven."

"You set off again."

"Knowing that walking straight ahead would still inevitably lead you to the Stomach of the Violet Orchid God, you decided to take a detour."

"You were traveling."

"You came across a mysterious figure hanging upside down from a tree, its entire body covered in black cloth. You sensed that it was not to be trifled with, so you decided to go around it."

"Thanks to the Garment of the Hidden World, you weren't noticed."

"You hurried on."

"Night fell. You chose to light the Ancient God Fire Lamp. The power of the stolen fire kept the Scions of the Dark Night at bay."

"Day broke, and you continued on your way."

"You arrived at the Spring of Heaven."

Nice.

Yang Qizhou wanted to kiss the Garment of the Hidden World twice over. Without this "quasi-Legendary" Old Day Item, the unknown horrors of the Wilderness would've made it impossible for the protagonist to take a single step. He'd have to die thousands of times before he could even dream of getting here.

While the iron was hot, Yang Qizhou planned to keep tapping the screen to refresh the text, hoping to get Holy Redemption as soon as possible.

Ding-dong.

A new message appeared in the Secret Cultivator Society group.

[Cheetah (Member): I have a deal. Urgently need 100,000. I need to know the current status of the Ancient God of Judgment. Leads are fine too, but they must be confirmed to come from the game.]