Ancient God Fire Lamp

The Moonlight Ancient God Altar.

Yang Qizhou thought of the Moonlight Ancient God's statue.

Leaving aside the bizarre fact that the rewards gained in the [World of Weirdness] could be brought into reality, the plot twists alone were enough to give his young mind a hard shock.

Looking at the sun could get you killed, and wandering around at night could get you killed too. As bizarre and horrifying as that was, it still fell within the bounds of what people could accept.

But a man becoming a mother was just ridiculous.

And a stone statue giving birth was enough to shatter anyone's worldview.

Too bad [World of Weirdness] was a text-based game, and the player couldn't control the dialogue. Otherwise, Yang Qizhou would have roasted it mercilessly.

The text continued to refresh.

"You were dazzled by the beauty of Lena, the Night Watcher captain."

"You thought of Aliceina, and the passion in your heart was instantly extinguished. You sighed, reflecting that the more beautiful a woman was, the more dangerous she was."

"You didn't immediately tell her about the Moonlight Ancient God Altar. Instead, you asked Lena why she wanted to know."

"Lena looked troubled and explained the reason."

"It turned out that the Fire-Stealing Village and the Hundred Tribes of the Forest had once signed an alliance under the witness of the 'King of Oaths,' joining forces to resist the terrifying, uncanny forces of the Wilderness. The Ancient Fire-Stealing God and the Moonlight Ancient God had even joined hands to create a Divine Path connecting their two divine domains, allowing their followers to travel freely between them, sheltered from the uncanny horrors of the Wilderness."

"But not long ago, the Divine Path suddenly collapsed, and the Fire-Stealing Village lost contact with the Hundred Tribes of the Forest."

"To get to the bottom of the truth, many Night Watchers had ventured into the Wilderness, where the unknown and the mysterious coexisted, and headed for the Moonlight Ancient God Altar. The former Night Watcher captain, Porter, had been among them."

"But none of them had returned."

"Now, an unknown and terrifying presence in the Wilderness had set its sights on the Fire-Stealing Village. Lena was deeply uneasy and urgently needed help from the Hundred Tribes of the Forest."

"You had planned to tell her what you'd seen at the Moonlight Ancient God Altar. But when you thought of the Evil Altar devoted to the 'Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World,' you hesitated. You couldn't be sure whether Lena was human or wolf."

"You chose to hide some of the truth, telling Lena only that the Moonlight Ancient God Altar had already been abandoned when you arrived."

"Lena was deeply shocked."

"She didn't know about the 'Mother Goddess Flower Seed of the Dream Realm,' or that the Moonlight Ancient God's statue had given birth to a 'Dream Offspring.' She assumed that Aliceina, a follower of the old gods wandering outside the Fire-Stealing Village, had brought the calamity that destroyed the Hundred Tribes of the Forest."

"You saw that Captain Lena was shocked, but not surprised, and couldn't help asking why."

"Lena explained that this place was close to an unknown part of the Wilderness, where the grace of the Radiant Gods could barely reach. The uncanny and the unknown coexisted here, and mystery and horror went hand in hand. The environment was so harsh and terrifying that, with every passing moment, a flood of monsters swallowed another tribe or village. The Hundred Tribes of the Forest's misfortune was no surprise. The next to suffer utter destruction might be the Fire-Stealing Village."

Yang Qizhou thought of what had happened earlier in the story.

The buildings in the Fire-Stealing Village had rapidly weathered and decayed. The Night Watchers had aged and died before his eyes. Everything had turned to nothingness, and only Aliceina had thanked his character for showing her the way.

Without the "Blasphemous Raven" ability, the Fire-Stealing Village might already have ceased to exist.

Yang Qizhou felt secretly relieved. The Ancient Earth was far too terrifying. Thankfully, he hadn't been born into that world; otherwise, he wouldn't have lasted even half a day. He would've died without even knowing how.

The game continued.

"The destruction of the Hundred Tribes of the Forest and the abandonment of the Moonlight Ancient God Altar made Lena realize how serious things were. She decided to find the Fire-Stealing Priest and discuss the threat facing the Fire-Stealing Village."

"You thought again of the 'Remains of the Night Watcher' in your possession and couldn't help hesitating."

"Such a greedy, cheat-enabled adventurer."

"Have you decided to risk taking out the 'Remains of the Night Watcher' and see whether you can get something in return?"

"Or have you decided to keep them for yourself for now?"

"Please make your choice."

If this had been any other player, they would surely have been in a dilemma. The "Remains of the Night Watcher" held an unknown power that could deter the threats lurking in the Wilderness, so they were quite useful. Giving them up would be a considerable loss. Of course, the Night Watchers would surely offer some reward out of gratitude, but whether it would be worth as much as the remains was open to debate.

But Yang Qizhou had no such concerns, because he had the "Doom-Bringing Raven."

Yang Qizhou chose "Yes" without hesitation.

"You took out the 'Remains of the Night Watcher' and explained that you'd tricked them out of Aliceina's hands."

"Lena recognized the 'Remains of the Night Watcher' as belonging to her missing father, Porter, the previous Night Watcher captain. He had disappeared on the way to the Moonlight Ancient God Altar. She hadn't imagined that he had met with disaster, and was overcome with grief."

"You lost the 'Remains of the Night Watcher.'"

"To show her gratitude, Lena gave you the 'Ancient God Fire Lamp.'"

"Ancient God Fire Lamp (Fine): An implement used by the villagers of the Fire-Stealing Village to steal fire. It needs 'Fire Kindling' to be lit and activated. It contains a small amount of the Ancient Fire-Stealing God's divine power, which can dispel illusions in the mist and reveal the true scenery."

"You gained Lena's favor."

"You have 'Fire Kindling' on you, so the Ancient God Fire Lamp has lit automatically."

What a great item.

With a thought, Yang Qizhou summoned a bronze oil lamp into his hand. Its flame seemed to come alive, flickering in the moonlight.

The "Ancient God Fire Lamp" was an advanced version of "Fire Kindling." Its ability to dispel illusions in the mist hadn't changed, but its effect of guiding him along the real road into the "Fire-Stealing Village" had become the ability to see the true scenery. The difference was only a single word, but the effects were worlds apart.

After fiddling with it for a while, Yang Qizhou turned his attention back to the game.

He'd originally planned to use the "Doom-Bringing Raven" ability to get the "Remains of the Night Watcher" back as soon as he'd received his reward. But when he saw the words "You gained Lena's favor," he changed his mind.

The favor of this Night Watcher captain might be the key to triggering a hidden storyline in the future.

"I hope I didn't make the wrong bet," Yang Qizhou murmured.

The game continued.

"After your meeting with Lena ended, Yixiu led you back to your lodgings."

"You passed the large house you'd sneaked into earlier and couldn't help asking Yixiu who lived there."

"Yixiu looked at the house with reverence and said that its resident was the most revered Fire-Stealing Priest in the Fire-Stealing Village, an intermediary capable of wielding the authority of the 'Ancient Fire-Stealing God.' The villagers communicated with the deity through him."

"The Fire-Stealing God's priest secretly worshiped the 'Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World'?"

"Goosebumps rose all over your body. Cold sweat trickled down your forehead and back as all sorts of terrifying suspicions arose in your mind."

"You returned to your lodgings."

"Night fell."

"Following Yixiu's instructions, you performed 'fire-stealing,' using the flames of the gods of the Astral Realm to dispel the horrors in the darkness."

"You made it through the night."