Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World

The meaning between the lines was as good as telling Yang Qizhou directly that there was something good in this room, and he should hurry up and choose to push the door open.

The Doom-Bringing Raven could still be used four times; at worst, he would just have to make another choice, so Yang Qizhou felt no psychological pressure and made his decision immediately.

"The greed of an explorer has led you to make a bold choice once again."

"You pushed the door open and walked inside."

"You see an altar filled with evil, upon which rests a bizarre statue, surrounded by offerings made of human viscera. You suppress your nausea and search the room."

"You discover a rag on the altar stained with dark red blood."

"You have picked up the 'Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood'."

Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood (Excellent): Once merely an ordinary rag, it was accidentally stained with the blood of the "Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World." It can be used as a holy relic medium for divine descent or as a material for refining "Old World Items."

This was likely another evil god.

Yang Qizhou didn't know what to say anymore. The game had only just begun, and he hadn't even left the newbie village yet, but he had already become entangled with so many deities.

The Moonlight Ancient God, the Mother of Beauty and Fertility, the Master of the Dream Realm, the Lord of the Dark Night, and the Ancient Fire-Stealing God.

Now, here comes the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World...

One had to realize that any one of these honorific names could serve as a major boss in other games, for heaven's sake.

Complaining aside, getting a reward was always a happy thing, so Yang Qizhou continued to click the text.

"Having just picked up the 'Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood,' you suddenly hear the sound of a dog barking, yet there is no shadow of a dog anywhere around you."

"Your neck is bitten through."

"You have died."

???

Well, this method of death was very Cthulhu-esque.

The narrator once again mocked the arrogant explorer, asking whether he would use the power of fate to rewrite the outcome of his death or use the ability of the "Doom-Bringing Raven" to return to the moment before he made his last choice.

Yang Qizhou analyzed the situation.

Stealing the "Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood" would very likely alert the owner who set up the evil altar, and it would certainly be impossible to sneak back in later.

And based on the information revealed in the text, there were clearly still secrets hidden in this house.

Therefore, Yang Qizhou's choice was... to use the power of the "Doom-Bringing Raven."

"You have returned to the moment before you made your last choice. You see the purple halo flowing out from the room. You know full well that inside lies an altar used to worship the 'Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World,' and that an invisible monster exists there. If you push the door open, you will surely die."

"So, you despicable and cheating explorer, do you choose to enter the room again and be bitten to death by the unknown monster?"

"Or will you look around elsewhere?"

Yang Qizhou chose the second option.

"You choose not to provoke that invisible monster; after all, the feeling of having your neck bitten through is not pleasant. Of course, you would never admit it was because of fear; you comfort yourself by thinking that continuing to search the house might yield more rewards."

"You search many other places, but find nothing."

"You walk into the study."

"You find a diary, but the content within makes you feel strange and horrified."

"I had a dream. This dream was so wonderful; there was no omnipresent horror or trembling, no terrifying evils that could appear at any moment in the wilderness. In the singing of the Great Existence, I could sleep peacefully."

"I am waking up, and I am desperately trying to hold onto this dream in terror, but I cannot, because this land has already been dominated by an evil god, and the great radiance cannot shine here."

"No, no, no, no..."

"I absolutely will not allow anyone to take my dream away, not even an evil god."

"I will make the great glory shine here once again."

"Just wait, everyone will be saved."

"You throw the diary away in terror, feeling that the person who wrote this diary must have had a serious problem with their head."

"Footsteps sound outside. You know the owner of the house has returned, and you hide in a panic."

"The owner of the house enters. He notices that his diary has been touched and realizes that a thief has snuck in."

"You have been discovered by the owner of the house."

"You suddenly hear the sound of a dog barking. You think of your terrifying experience at the evil altar and try to flee in horror. Before you can even see what the owner of the house looks like, your head is crushed."

"You have died."

The familiar recipe, the familiar taste; if he played for a while longer, he could summarize the protagonist's one hundred thousand ways to die.

Yang Qizhou focused on a strange detail again.

Fortunately, he quickly regained his composure.

The revelation of the world-building was still only the tip of the iceberg, and he couldn't analyze anything from it, so he didn't bother trying.

The game continued.

This time, Yang Qizhou did not utilize the ability of the Doom-Bringing Raven, choosing a normal resurrection instead.

"You open your eyes once again in the residence arranged by Yixiu."

"Recalling the contents of the diary, you feel a deep sense of trepidation and horror, sensing that something major is about to happen in Fire-Stealing Village."

"Yixiu has returned, stating that Captain Lena wishes to meet with you after learning about Aliceina, but since night is falling, the villagers must perform the 'Fire-Stealing' immediately, so the meeting must wait until tomorrow."

"You want to tell Yixiu about what you witnessed in the large house, but you hesitate in the end; the owner of the large house clearly holds a high status in Fire-Stealing Village, and you cannot be certain whether this Night Watcher is a friend or a foe."

"Yixiu notices your hesitation and tells you that you can speak freely."

"You change the subject, asking instead about the 'Fire-Stealing'."

"Your superb acting deceives Yixiu, and he explains the origins of the 'Fire-Stealing' to you."

"The Ancient Fire-Stealing God was a great deity active in the previous epoch who once stole the Fire Kindling that illuminates the darkness from the gods of the Astral Realm, shielding believers from being devoured by the horrors of the dark night."

"Every time night falls, the villagers must hold the 'Fire-Stealing' ritual, using the flames stolen from the gods of the Astral Realm to light the lamps in their homes, which is the only way to ensure they are not consumed by the horrors in the night."

So that was it; Yang Qizhou suddenly understood.

He had previously felt it strange that if there were horrors in the night, the land should have long since been barren and devoid of life, so he wondered how the people in Fire-Stealing Village had survived. Now he understood: the villagers relied on the protection of the Ancient Fire-Stealing God, using the flames stolen from the gods of the Astral Realm to illuminate the darkness and ward off the progeny of the Lord of the Dark Night.

Of course, this was merely an inference based on the information revealed so far; as for whether it was the truth, that remained to be verified.

The game continued.

"The next day, you meet with the Night Watcher captain, Lena. She does not immediately ask about the information regarding Aliceina, the suspected 'Old God believer,' but instead asks about the situation at the Moonlight Ancient God Altar."