Deadly Weed

It took Li Muyang a full hour to completely steady the surging spiritual energy within his body.

The vast spiritual energy circulated through his meridians and dantian in a full cycle before gradually being refined and flowing into the spiritual-energy vortex within Li Muyang's dantian sea.

That spiritual-energy vortex had visibly grown much larger.

The cultivation progress bar beneath the character card on the system interface, much like an experience bar, had changed as well.

[Li Muyang: Qi Refinement Realm, Second Layer (27%)]

Li Muyang had only been at 12% before. After eating one meal of high-grade spirit rice, his cultivation progress had shot straight up to 27%.

At this rate, wouldn't he break through to the second layer of the Qi Refinement Realm in seven days at most?

Li Muyang was startled by the rapid growth of his cultivation.

One had to know that outer sect disciples spent their days doing odd jobs in the sect and ate the low-grade spirit rice issued by the sect every day. It usually took them around a year to advance a single realm.

He could match an ordinary person's year in roughly ten days?

At this rate, he would soon reach the ninth layer of the Qi Refinement Realm and have hope of Foundation Establishment.

"Good news..."

This was fucking fantastic news.

Li Muyang opened his eyes, invigorated, and happily paced back and forth around the room.

Unfortunately, he was hiding in a demonic sect like the Demon Refining Sect. There was not even anyone he could share it with.

When he got a five-kill streak while gaming in his previous life, he could at least brag to his roommates.

Now that something this awesome had happened, he could only keep it buried in his heart.

If word of the high-grade spirit rice got out, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Besides, this was only the reward for clearing a game for the first time.

Li Muyang looked forward even more to the rewards this game system would offer later.

After pacing twice around the room with its tightly shut door, Li Muyang adjusted his emotions, then returned to the wooden bed and closed his eyes.

At that moment, the vast system interface, like a painting of heaven and earth, had changed.

[Untimed game—Deadly Weed has been unlocked. Enter and experience it?]

[Yes/No]

[Note: This game is a cultivation-type instance. Special rewards may be obtained upon clearing it. Please choose carefully, Host.]

The text prompts floating in his vision made Li Muyang blink.

A cultivation type?

Special rewards after clearing it?

What was there to consider?

Li Muyang directly chose to confirm.

Mainly because the system had searched for an entire day and only found this one game. Li Muyang had no other choice.

As Li Muyang selected [Yes], the game interface in his vision changed once more.

Vast, boundless mountains appeared before his eyes. Amid those desolate mountain ranges, a mysterious structure resembling a village could vaguely be seen.

Yet the village, built of bamboo and wood, gave off a gloomy, sinister feeling.

In the woods outside the village hung one dried corpse after another.

Under the dim sunlight, the colors between heaven and earth seemed slightly gray and dark.

Then pale system text emerged within that dim painting.

[She is neither heaven's favored child nor born of a wealthy bloodline. She cannot even be considered the child of a poor family.]

[She is merely a blade of wild grass by the roadside, a wildflower by the riverbank.]

[Unnoticed by anyone, cared for by no one.]

[Yet within her lies immense potential and hope.]

[Now, this unnoticed blade of wild grass has wandered into the dangerous Miasma Land, surrounded by wicked people with twisted intentions.]

[The actions, beliefs, and views of those evil people influence her day after day.]

[She may hold fast to her true heart and grow into an immortal spirit flower so dazzling that all things beneath heaven and earth pale beside it.]

[Or she may draw nourishment from poisonous soil and transform into the most venomous weed in the world...]

[No matter what her ending may be, fortunate you now have an opportunity.]

[You will personally water this blade of wild grass and raise her into the form you like.]

[Attention! Cultivation-type instance—Deadly Weed has been unlocked.]

[This instance is an interactive game. Different choices by the Host will unlock different storylines. Saving is available at any time.]

[Please select your game character.]

[Constable Wuming: Shadow of the Lost Hero, Fleeting Glimpse] (Note: Selecting this character will forfeit the game identity and enter the scene directly.)

[Leng Aqi: System-generated character, fourth-generation disciple of Desolate Soul Stronghold, an utterly inconspicuous member of the demonic sect.] (Recommended)

The long string of text in his vision, along with the character selection interface at the bottom, made Li Muyang blink.

"So that's what character cards are for?"

The character cards obtained after successfully clearing stages could be used in later instance games?

Then wouldn't Constable Wuming's Time Stop and Sword Hidden in Belly skills be absolutely overpowered?

However, Li Muyang did not plan to use Wuming's character card for this game. The system text had put it very plainly.

This was an interactive game. Put simply, it was a galgame. Different choices during character dialogue would unfold different storylines after entering.

Games like this hardly had any combat scenes, so naturally there was no need for combat skills.

Time Stop and Sword Hidden in Belly were indeed fierce skills, but they seemed useless in this game.

And if he selected a new character, would he have a chance to obtain a new character card?

Li Muyang directly selected the system-recommended [Leng Aqi].

As he selected the character, the system interface changed again, and he entered the game immediately.

This time, Li Muyang was not asked to choose any talent skills. Clearly, just as he had guessed, this cultivation game did not require combat.

Profound darkness surged in like a tide and swallowed Li Muyang in the blink of an eye.

When he opened his eyes again and his vision returned, he found himself sitting in an unfamiliar stilt house.

The stilt house was built entirely from bamboo and wood, with sunlight faintly filtering through the cracks in its walls.

Li Muyang turned his head and looked around when dialogue boxes suddenly popped up in his vision.

[I... I'm not dead? That's great! I need to report to Steward Wu and keep working.]

[I'm so tired... My whole body hurts so much. I don't want to work anymore. I'll keep sleeping.]

"Tsk..." Li Muyang clicked his tongue, not at all surprised.

These choices really were from a galgame. This format was far too familiar.

Li Muyang thought for a moment and chose the second option.

It looked like Leng Aqi was in a miserable situation. She was practically exhausted to death, yet she still wanted to go work? Get your ass in bed and rest!

Thus, Li Muyang heard himself speak.

"I'm so tired... Anyway, it's already late. I won't work today. I'll sleep for a while."

As she spoke, Leng Aqi lay back down on the small bed woven from bamboo, and Li Muyang's vision fell into darkness.

Clearly, Leng Aqi had fallen asleep.

Just as Li Muyang was wondering how long this Leng Aqi would sleep, a blood-red dialogue box suddenly popped up in his vision.

[Wild Grass has died. Game failed.]

The next second, Li Muyang was forcibly kicked out of the game and returned to the main game interface.

Looking at the unfolded painting in his vision—the boundless mountains and the eerie bamboo village within it—Li Muyang was somewhat speechless.

"That casual of a failure? Just because she didn't report in for work, the game's heroine died?"

"Wasn't she supposed to have immense potential? Dying that suddenly... that's ridiculous..."

Li Muyang could only reenter the game and choose the first option again.