Plot Clues

Under the gloomy sky, Li Muyang sat on the ridge of the field and opened his eyes once again.

He scratched his head, feeling speechless.

Damn it, dead again...

Had Steward Wu eaten gunpowder today?

Why did he start killing the moment they met?

Whenever he encountered Steward Wu, the system would provide two options, but no matter which one Li Muyang chose, Steward Wu would fly into a rage and hack him to death, leaving him with no path to survival.

Having died several times in a row, Li Muyang was now at a loss for words.

I'm guaranteed to die if I meet Steward Wu, but I can't avoid meeting him either...

Logically, an interactive game shouldn't offer a guaranteed death scenario. If such an option appeared, it meant a death flag had been triggered during a previous key choice, leading to this inevitable outcome.

However, the third stage of development had only just begun, and he hadn't progressed far in the game's plot; it was impossible for Li Muyang to have triggered a death flag.

Could the key to breaking the deadlock be before meeting Steward Wu?

Li Muyang reloaded his save, going back to the very beginning, before he went to the Ancestral Temple to see Granny Gu.

After loading into the game, Li Muyang met Little Wild Grass.

"Big Brother, Granny Gu wants us to go see her in a little while."

Little Wild Grass informed him of the news.

Li Muyang shook his head: "No, we're going straight into the mountains."

This time, Li Muyang chose not to see Granny Gu, instead taking Little Wild Grass directly into the mountains to bypass the Ancestral Temple plot.

Upon arriving at the karst cave on time, Steward Wu didn't kill him, but his attitude remained as cold as ever.

After accompanying Little Wild Grass to have her blood drawn in the cave, Li Muyang led her toward the stronghold.

However, a chilling wind suddenly emerged on the mountain path, and darkness flooded over Li Muyang like a tide.

That sensation of being touched by a bizarre creature in the Ancestral Temple returned.

[You have died. Game over.]

As the death screen popped up, Li Muyang opened his eyes on the field ridge.

"If I don't see Granny Gu, she'll just kill me outright?"

Li Muyang scratched his head: "It seems my utility isn't as high as I thought? If I don't follow the agreement to see her, she just butchers me without giving me a chance to argue."

That old woman had a rather murderous temperament.

Li Muyang closed his eyes and entered the game again.

Not seeing Granny Gu meant certain death, and seeing Steward Wu after triggering the Ancestral Temple plot also meant certain death.

Therefore, the key to breaking the deadlock had to lie between these two plot points.

Li Muyang quickly identified the direction to break the deadlock and reloaded his save.

This time, the save point was right after he and Little Wild Grass had emerged from the Ancestral Temple.

After leaving the Ancestral Temple, Li Muyang did not take Little Wild Grass directly to find Steward Wu.

He walked along the mountain path with her, pondering what room for maneuver he had before meeting Steward Wu.

The foreign demonic cultivators in Black Cloud Stronghold were brutal and powerful, led by a mysterious Temple Lord. However, the Temple Lord was incredibly enigmatic and never appeared in public; the villagers had never seen the Temple Lord's true face.

Beneath the Temple Lord were three Cave Masters, and under these three were eighteen stewards.

Steward Wu was one of them. Among the demonic cultivators, he was already considered an elite monster with high status and authority.

Li Muyang couldn't bypass Steward Wu to find the three Cave Masters, or he would die even faster.

These old-school demonic cultivators were brutal and vicious, far more treacherous than the "lawful evil" cultivators of the Demon Refining Sect, and they were essentially impossible to reason with.

Li Muyang took Little Wild Grass into the karst cave, but instead of going straight to Steward Wu, he specifically bypassed the Blood Chamber and wandered aimlessly through the cave system.

A series of interconnected karst caves formed a vast underground world.

These caves were all incredibly tall, with the highest points reaching hundreds of meters, so one didn't feel stifled while inside.

Coupled with the modifications made by the demonic cultivators, aside from the air being noticeably more humid and cold, it was almost indistinguishable from the outside world.

In the large cavern outside the pharmacy, many beautiful spirit herbs and flowers were even planted, their stems emitting a glow in the dimness, resembling a fairy-tale world.

Little Wild Grass followed by Li Muyang's side, watching him bypass the Blood Chamber and walk through every cave they could access, and couldn't help but ask.

"Big Brother, aren't we going to the Blood Chamber yet? If we don't go soon, Steward Wu will really get angry."

Little Wild Grass said with concern.

Li Muyang, however, acted as if he had nothing to do, scurrying around the caves and striking up conversations with any demonic cultivator he caught.

In the game, talking to NPCs was one of the primary ways to obtain key information.

And now, whenever Li Muyang saw a demonic cultivator, he would step forward to chat.

"...Brother, did anything happen in the cave today?"

"Sister, have you heard about what happened in the cave today?"

"Hey... Uncle Blade, have you heard about anything going on in the cave today?"

Li Muyang struck up a conversation with every NPC he encountered, attempting to trigger a key plot point.

However, after making the rounds through the standard locations like the alchemy room, the pharmacy, and the marrow-cleansing pool, Li Muyang still hadn't found any critical clues.

Faced with his inquiries, everyone was completely bewildered, having no idea what Li Muyang was talking about.

Fortunately, the low-level demonic cultivators in this cave were all Black Cloud Stronghold residents just like Li Muyang.

With ribbons wrapped around their wrists, they followed the Temple Lord in practicing demonic arts, but at their core, they were still natives of Black Cloud Stronghold and acquaintances of the character "Jiang Xiaoyu."

Therefore, even though Li Muyang's behavior of running around aimlessly was strange, no one shunned him.

A kind-hearted demonic cultivator even reminded Li Muyang to hurry up and take the Soul-Lost One to the Blood Chamber without delay, warning him that Steward Wu had a terrible temper and that it would truly be trouble if he angered him.

And as everyone had said, Steward Wu soon appeared.

"Jiang Xiaoyu! You aren't bringing the Soul-Lost One to be drained of blood, yet you're still running around the cave... Do you think you can turn the world upside down?"

Steward Wu, his face dark and gloomy, appeared suddenly and blocked Li Muyang's path.

Clearly, word of Li Muyang running around the cave had spread, and Steward Wu had tracked him down.

Staring at Li Muyang with cold eyes, Steward Wu said, "Since you don't want to work, then don't work ever again!"

As his voice fell, Steward Wu flicked his sleeve, and blood-red characters popped up before Li Muyang's eyes once more.

[You have died. Game over.]

Li Muyang opened his eyes on the ridge of the field and pondered for a moment.

If the plot clues can't be triggered in the cave, could they be outside the cave?

He reloaded his save, but this time, instead of entering the karst cave, he wandered around Black Cloud Stronghold.

Li Muyang repeated his old trick, chatting with every villager he saw.

There were more villagers in the stronghold, and Li Muyang wandered around for two or three hours, yet he still failed to trigger any key clues.

Then, two hours later, Steward Wu arrived after hearing the news, his eyes cold.

"You brat, you dare to exceed the time limit?"

The next second, blood splattered, and the game failed.

Li Muyang opened his eyes and reloaded the save again.

There are no clues in the cave, and no clues in the stronghold... Could the clues be on the mountain path before entering the cave?